Feline Sanctuary
by Leonaria Dragonbane
Summary: A lonely Victor decides to take in a bunch of kittens after James abandons him again at Three Mile Island.
1. Chapter 1

This takes place between the end of Wolverine and the beginning of X-Men. This is an explanation of what Victor was doing while Logan was roaming the world in search of his memories, and how he came to work for Magneto in the first place. The story will bridge over X-Men II and X-Men III and continue into the indefinite future. I will probably bring in Tony Stark in a cameo as well.

This idea is based on an AU comic sequence which shows Victor has a strong paternal and nurturing side to him - even if he doesn't like admitting it.

All the usual disclaimers - I don't own them, I don't own the universe. Wish I did, then I wouldn't have to work to support my writing addiction.

Feline Sanctuary

He smelled them first. There had to be at least eight, maybe more. It said a lot for how dirty they were that he couldn't get an accurate count. Since the Island incident, he'd been running, laying low, trying to find a way to get by. Striker paid all the bills, and now he was at loose ends. It wasn't so much money as time. He and Jimmy had saved quite a bit, and he'd made a select few investments that built a nice little nest egg, only he wasn't ready to nest.

He was roaming through the back streets of Los Angeles looking for something to keep himself occupied when he found the abandoned building. He set himself up a bolt hole on the top floor, and the second day he woke up to loud noises several floors below him, and the scent of at least eight very dirty cubs crawling around. He growled. He hated dirt, hated filth. He kept himself meticulously clean under most circumstances, and when he couldn't, well God had better help whoever was between him and water when he got out of those circumstances. He'd bathe before going looking for food. He just couldn't stand dirt.

His bolt hole was clean, or as clean as he could get it with the cracks in the window glass and the complete air of decay and desolation the old building seemed to exude through its very wall.

He watched the cubs, silently, for about a week before approaching them. They managed to keep their numbers hidden, and at any one time he never caught more than eight distinct scents. The three oldest couldn't be more than ten or eleven years old, and they were taking care of the rest of them from infant to about seven or eight. The faces were constantly changing and somehow he had a feeling there were other groups out there, and they traded cubs around from one group to another. He wasn't able to figure out of that was by design, or just accident.

The leader of the group in his building was a cub, he thought she was female, about eleven years old that went by the name Rini. There was another cub, a male about the same age that went by Tymi. They managed food for the cubs at least three days a week, but he noticed the infant, it couldn't be more than five or six weeks old, was getting thinner and weaker.

He observed, but he had no intention of sticking his nose in, at least not until Rini came back to the building bloody, and he could tell something else had happened to her. Tymi came back about an hour later, not in much better shape.

"Rini, we can't do this." He said.

"We have to get food for the baby. We can steal for us, but baby stuff is hard...and we can make money doing this." Rini said, cringing as she sat down on the dirty floor. Victor felt a low growl in his throat but bit it back. They didn't need to know he was watching.

"That guy nearly killed you. And you didn't get paid either." Tymi said. "No more, Rini."

"Well I did get his wallet, so I guess I got paid. There's about fifty bucks in it. We can feed her for a while." Rini handed him the folded leather.

"Rini, no more, you scared me." Tymi whimpered, but took the money out of the wallet.

"We've got feed her."

Victor slipped silently away, and up the dilapidated staircase to his own bolt hole. The kid was selling herself and that just made him cringe. He'd killed his share of cubs, hell frails too, but he couldn't stand the males that preyed on young cubs, and here his cub was selling herself to those perverts.

He stopped himself. His cub? When did that happen? He did growl this time, then shrugged. He'd raised Jimmy from that age, he could do it again. He just hoped these cubs were worth his time. He grabbed his bag, and reached down to the bottom. He pulled out a handful of cash. Rini needed medical attention, or she might bleed to death. He could smell that she was bleeding internally.

Tymi wasn't in any better shape but he'd not been molested either, just beat to shit. He slipped silently down the stairs, but this time didn't bother hiding from them as he walked across the floor of the area they were living in. He watched them scatter like rats, looking for some way out.

He just grabbed her by the scruff of her neck.

"You are comin' with me." She tried to take a swipe at him and he just laughed. She needed a bath and medical attention, and was spitting like a cornered cat.

"You leave her alone..." Tymi came at him with a knife, but he just grabbed him by the scruff of his neck too.

"You're coming too.

"You're not taking them!" He heard a small voice, and suddenly he was surrounded by hissing, stabbing cubs, more than he expected, and all of them armed with some kind of weapon. He almost grinned, but tried to shake them off gently. He counted close to twenty.

"I'm not gonna hurt them. The cubs need a doctor." He snarled.

"No doctor." Rini hissed. "They'd just put us in foster homes, split us up."

He thought about that for a second. She was right, and no human was gonna take what was his. He'd allowed himself to claim them, by God he would protect them.

"Well, shit, I ain't gonna let you die." He growled.

"I've lived through worse." She said, and he looked her in the eye. She was telling the truth, and that worried him more than if it had been a lie. He could smell her starting to heal. She was a mutant with a low level healing factor. So was Tymi now that he had them close and could really look at them, hell half the cubs showed some obvious signs of mutation.

"Name's Victor, I live upstairs." He growled as he slowly put the two older kids down.

"You gonna report us?" Tymi said.

"If I was gonna, I'da done it a week ago. You cubs are noisy, and keep me awake at night." He growled. Tymi and Rini exchanged glances.

"Can you get us some baby stuff?" Rini asked.

"Was plannin' on it. Been watchin' ya for a week, you cubs need an adult around."

"NO we don't." Tymi growled.

"Fine, suit yourself. I'll be upstairs if anyone needs me." He turned to walk away. "But first I'm getting that baby food for the squalling rat. Her cryin' gets on my last nerve." He walked out. He half expected them to be gone when he got back with a couple cans of baby formula and bottles, some diapers and a blanket, he also had a sack of real groceries, food growing cubs needed.

They were still there, waiting. He just handed over the stuff and went back up the stairs. He could hear them down there trying to make formula for the baby.

"You have to use water, dummy." Rini said.

"There's no water." Tymi snapped.

"He brought bottled water, dope." She said, and he heard the crack of the top of a bottle of water opening. "Its half this stuff and half water."

He listened the rest of the afternoon as they struggled to get the baby to eat. Finally she seemed to settle down. He couldn't stay here, they couldn't stay here for long. He was going to have to figure out something to do with a bunch of cubs.

He dozed off, trying to come up with a solution.

The next morning he looked in on his way out of the building. They had two kids sitting watch while the rest curled up in a big pile to sleep. He just nodded and walked down the stairs.

He found a pay phone, something that seemed to be disappearing in the world and he cursed the idiots that kept cutting the hand set cords. He dialed a number and waited.

"Flannery and Fiskle, how may I direct your call?"

"Just put one of the assholes on the phone." He growled. He heard her jump in her chair, and then the phone went silent as she transferred him.

"Flannery speaking."

"Creed. I need ta know what I've got near LA?". He said.

"You've told us never to buy property in California."

"I asked what I've got near by, asshole."

"Nothing."

"Okay, what do I have big enough to house up to twenty people at one time and don't say Seattle."

"That limits options, but you have a large ranch in West Texas that you aren't doing anything with at the moment."

"House?"

"It's large, but also has a bunk house and an apartment for a ranch manager."

"Okay get a team out there and clean it up, and I'm gonna need transport for me and a bunch of others."

"There's a small air strip with the property, you can land a fairly large plane. Do you want LAX or one of the smaller strips?"

"One of the smaller ones. And I'm gonna need a housekeeper, preferably someone who's lost a cub."

"I'll make the arrangements. The pickup will be this afternoon." They gave him the airstrip information and the time of the flight.

He just hung up the phone. Getting the cubs out of LA was his first priority. How he was going to convince them to go, he had no clue.

He walked down the street, and picked out a large van. He could pack the cubs in that to take to the airport, he was lucky, the damned thing had a for sale sign on it. He grumbled about how much it cost, but he wasn't going to leave even one of the cubs behind.

He pulled up outside the building and unlocked the side door of the van. He knew he was going to have a fight getting the cubs inside, but he wanted to get them someplace safe.

He stood in the stairwell listening.

"Rini, we could use tha help."

"No, we don't need no grown ups."

"Rini, Kara's sick, she needs a doctor." Tymi said. Victor growled. He could smell it, the baby wasn't doing well today.

"I can help." He said as he walked into the room they were in. The two oldest cubs jumped about three feet in the air and came down snarling. He chuckled at their almost mirrored movements. "I told ya, I ain't gonna hurt ya."

"Can you take Kara to a doctor?" Rini asked him, straightening out of her crouch slowly. Tymi was doing the same.

"I can do better than that. I've got a van outside, and a plane waiting. I've got a big stretch of land out in Texas. Gonna put you cubs on it, with an adult to take care of stuff like doctors and shit." He was pleased with himself for his solution.

"No, you're not. We live here, we know how to make it here. We don't want to go to dumb Texas." Rini snarled at him.

"Well, tough shit. I ain't watchin you lot die of starvation, and I can't help you properly here. I ain't exactly Joe Blow off the streets, and if I get seen pickin' up shit for cubs, the cops are gonna come lookin." He growled.

"We never said you had to help us, besides, how do we know you're not just gonna take us to the cops?" Tymi asked. Victor gave the cub chops, he thought fast and wasn't afraid to speak up.

"Because, if I take you to the cops, then I go down too. I can take care of you cubs in Texas. Its a big ranch, lots of room, not a lot of adults around ta make your lives miserable. Gonna hire one person ta make sure meals are cooked and eaten, doctors don't get suspicious and turn ya in ta social services, and be there in case you need an adult around." He still could smell suspicion from both of them. Good, he didn't want his cubs trusting just anyone.

"What about money? You gotta have money to feed us, and we know how much that takes." Rini said.

"Don't worry about money, I got it ta spare." He growled.

"Well, you ain't lied to us so far..." She started.

"Rini, we don't trust them...they'll break us up, put us in foster homes or worse." Tymi said.

"He got food for the baby without turning us in, 'sides, I'd rather live out away from the city, less chances of getting caught."

"Yeah, and less chances of finding food when this doesn't work."

"You got a better idea?" She snapped at him, and he just shook his head.

"You better not turn us in, or try to separate us." She glared at Victor.

"I promise, you will be safe ,no social services, and you all stay together." Victor held our his hand and she put her small one in it.

The other little ones came crawling out of the woodwork. One of the older ones was carrying the sick baby, and two others were leading toddlers no older than two by the hand.

"Everyone, grab what you want ta keep and get downstairs. We need ta move, I got a plane waiting.

He was surprised again by Rini and Tymi. They worked as a unit, sometimes not even speaking, but knowing what the other wanted. These cubs had to be really desperate to trust an animal like him, but he promised them they'd be safe and he never broke his word.

They managed to get everyone down to ground level and loaded into the van. It was packed tight, even if most of them were littles. The plane was waiting, and he cursed himself for not being specific. It was a small cargo plane. Inside it was set up for passengers, but he knew the insulation wasn't great.

The pilot didn't even turn around, just taxied down the runway as soon as the door was closed. It wasn't going to be a long flight, so he sat down in one of the cramped seats.

"Please, she's sick..." The one holding the infant tried to hand her to him. He growled, but the look in her eyes told him something. She'd seen babies die, and didn't want to hold this one as her small body grew colder.

"Sure." He reached out. He'd never held an infant before, but somehow managed to get it right. Her breathing was labored and he could hear congestion in her lungs. He opened his shirt and tucked her inside where it was warmer and the cold air of the plane wouldn't make things worse. She was fighting, and he could almost feel her willpower to hang on.

He felt something sharp against his skin and looked down. She had claws on the ends of her fingers, and he smiled. She'd scraped his skin in her sleep, and he wiped the small bead of blood away. This cub would bear watching.

She slept through the flight, which told him just how sick she was, They landed on the ranch and taxied almost right up to the big house. He opened the door and lead the ragtag bunch into the kitchen. Inside was a frail, probably in her late twenties. He growled, but she just held her hands out for the baby.

He felt like something had been torn from him when he handed the bundled infant over to the frail.

"She's burning up."

"I know, we need a doctor out here now." He snarled.

She was already dialing a phone. He ignored the muffled conversation and looked at the older cubs.

"Told ya." He said simply.

"Yeah, well its not bed time yet." Rini snarled back. He grinned.

The frail hung up the phone. "The doctor is on his way. He won't ask any questions." She turned to the cubs. "I'm Kayla."

The cubs looked at her suspiciously, but Rini held out a cautious hand. "Rini."

Victor smiled. They'd be well taken care of here. He watched as she managed to get all of them, eighteen in all counting the sick baby, settled into rooms. The only issue was trying to separate Rini and Tymi, and he had a sudden flash of insight.

"Kayla, leave it for now." He said to the frail. "They're used to being together, leave them alone."

"But..."

"No but, I know its not 'age appropriate' but these kids have been working together to keep the rest alive. They're a lot older inside than they are outside, they're mates, don't try to separate them."

He gave the frail credit, she just nodded her head. He didn't know how he knew, but somehow those two cubs had found each other and he wasn't going to force them apart. He'd seen it in the wild, cubs and pups forming their mate bond long before adolescence and these two feral mutants had done the same thing. They were still going to have to wait until they were grown, he'd see to that, but he wasn't going to separate them now, they needed to be able to comfort each other. After things settled in, he'd have a talk with Tymi and move him to another room, but for now, they were just cubs who relied on each other and he wouldn't change that.

The doctor arrived a few minutes later, and Kayla took the infant into the dining room. He stood back and let the doctor examine the baby.

"She's under nourished for her age, which I estimate to be about five weeks. She's developing a case of pneumonia. I brought some antibiotics with me, but she's going to need to eat regularly."

Victor listened as he gave Kayla instructions on how to treat the pneumonia and what formula to buy to help her gain weight. He waited while she showed the doctor out, the baby sleeping quietly in a basket on the floor next to the dining room table.

"I've already got formula and I'm going to give her the antibiotics after she's taken part of a bottle." Kayla said as she came back in.

Victor just nodded, and walked out of the room. The cubs would be safe here. He decided to stick around until they were completely settled, then he could get on the road again.

He found a bedroom that wasn't full of cubs and stretched out on the bed. He didn't understand why he'd done this. They were cubs, cubs die every day, why did he have to save them?

Yeah he'd saved Jimmy, but that was a long time ago, several lifetimes ago, and he had no reason to be surrounded by cubs. It wasn't natural, it wasn't something he'd asked for.

Jimmy was gone. He accepted that. He didn't understand why, but he knew it had something to do with that Fox chick. Her name had been Kayla too. Victor tried to think why she'd been that important to James. She wasn't bad looking, for a frail, and with that power of hers, she could have manipulated Jimmy, but it didn't work on Victor, so it shouldn't have worked on Jimmy.

He shook his head, that had nothing to do with the cubs. He heard a knock on the door and the little girl that had handed him the baby walked in.

"Can I sleep with you. The others won't let me because I have nightmares." She whispered. He let out a sigh. Tomorrow he was leaving for greener cub free pastures. He patted the side of the bed next to him and she climbed up. She couldn't be more than six or seven.

"G'night." She whispered, and curled up in a ball right next to his side. He felt something rumbling in his chest, and slapped his face with his palm. He was purring at the damned cub...but it seemed to work, she was fast asleep. He closed his eyes. Tomorrow he was leaving.


	2. Chapter 2

Feline Sanctuary 2

He stayed three months. After the first night he had never less than three kittens curled up in his bed and, when a bad storm hit, all eighteen, even baby Kara on his chest. It was getting where he couldn't sleep without cubs around him.

It amazed him that they were all feline based feral mutants. He tried to get Rini and Tymi to talk about how they all came together, but the two eldest were silent and unwavering in their determination not to tell had his suspicions. He knew what he'd been doing with Stryker, kidnapping kids with certain mutations, and he wondered if there was a lab somewhere doing the same with the ferals. He was going to have to look into it, tomorrow.

Finally, he couldn't take it any more. He packed his bag and slipped out while the cubs were eating lunch. He had to work if he was going to support all these mouths. He hiked to the nearest town and bought a bike. He would check on them regularly, but he needed to replenish the nest egg. He'd never worried about money in his life, he and Jimmy both just found what they needed, and stuck the rest back for a rainy day. Now he felt like it was raining every day.

That night, in a dingy motel room he tossed and turned, trying to get some sleep. Damned cubs, he didn't need them, they needed him, belonged to him. He finally picked up the crappy phone on the nightstand and called the ranch.

"Hello," Kayla answered.

"Are the cubs okay?" He asked.

"They are upset you left." He could hear an angry Rini in the background saying "he can stay gone for all I care."

"Tell them I'll be back in a few weeks, I need ta work so they can eat."

"I'll tell them." He could hear baby Kara crying in the background. The toddlers were at her feet clambering to talk to him and he felt a strange tightening in his chest. He talked to each of the littles for a moment then hung up the phone and glared at himself in the dirty mirror.

"You're goin' soft, Victor." He growled at his reflection. He knew the older ones were mad at him and he was going to have to make it up to them, somehow. He'd think about it tomorrow, right after he found some local yokel to gut, just to prove he wasn't soft.

The next morning he started calling old contacts. One of them had a short job he could do for a decent paycheck, but he was going to have to change his name. He didn't want his kind of work to get back to the cubs. He hated the thought that somehow, someone would hurt them to get to him. The diner he was in had some prehistoric theme, with paintings of animals on the tops of the tables. He hadn't even looked at his, it was covered in paper and the forgotten menu.

"What can I get for ya, sabretooth?" The waitress asked.

He looked at her strangely. "What?"

"The table, its a sabretooth cat." She said. He pushed the papers away and looked at the fierce striped animal with huge fangs. That worked for him.

"I'll have a burger, double meat, and fries." She took his order, and unintentionally gave him his new name. He wolfed down his food and left a big tip. He could work and it not come back to bite the cubs.

"I'll take that job." He said into the pay phone, he could hear his contact was moving papers around.

"Okay, the buyer will send me the particulars, but he's gonna want a name."

"Tell him Sabretooth." Victor snarled. He'd laughed when Jimmy wanted Wolverine on his new tags, but now he liked the idea of the anonymity. He had cubs to protect and care for.

He waited by the phone for three hours, and finally it rang. He jotted down the information he would need, and gave an account number for the money transfer. He didn't like the trail, but no one had ever linked that particular island account to him. He had one in a Swiss bank too, but he saved that for after the money was clean, especially since Jimmy had access to it.

This hit was a cool mil, half up front. He should be able to get the cubs some nice presents to make up for having to leave like that. He growled at himself. He didn't have to account to the cubs for what he did, and he needed to make sure they were all fed. Besides the cubs needed something to do, he just hoped Rini and Tymi liked what he was planning.

He'd bought the ranch, originally, for a place to get away, but a few years ago heard about this group of rare lions that needed someplace to live. He'd started the process to get a game preserve license, Jimmy thought it was a good idea. They were going to retire here after their last stint in the Army, but Stryker came along. Now it was just him and his cubs. Somehow he didn't think they'd mind taking care of some lost cats.

He called the agency that handled the license, and was surprised it had been approved. The process took forever, and he'd not been in touch in a few years. Evidently they didn't care, they'd inspected the ranch and approved it as a habitat for endangered large cats, all breeds. He grinned, now he just needed to find some cats.

The job was in Africa, so he could look into finding a breeding pair while he was there. He packed his small bag and checked out of the motel. Passport he didn't worry about, he had a jet on standby, and the less paper he had to deal with on a job, the better. He could still hear the anger in Rini's voice over the phone and stopped to call one more time. The kids were outside so he just told Kayla it might be more than a few weeks after all, and to make sure the cubs were enrolled in school. The cubs were more trouble than they were worth sometimes, too many rules.

He tried to imagine the look on their faces when he brought them home some kittens to play with, Rini and Tymi would love looking after more cubs. He grinned, his pets needed pets.

He really didn't care who was paying the bills. He took out the war lord in Somalia, then another job in Mogadishu, then a dual kill in South Africa, they'd paid that one in diamonds, he did some bodyguard work in Ghana, and it was there he found the perfect presents for the cubs. Thought to be extinct, but in the hands of a private collector, he found nine Saharan Great Lions. It took six months, and some serious kills that he was glad he wasn't using his name for, but he finally took payment in a male and female cub. A breeding pair someday, but for now Rini and Tymi would love their new kittens.

He called a contractor to build a sanctuary run and hunting area for the cats on the ranch. He went ahead and had six enclosures built. He had plans to breed more than just these two cats, and tigers especially would require solitary areas. He had eighteen cubs, and wanted room for all of their kittens.

He'd been away far longer than his few weeks, but he called them regularly to check on things. The two oldest were still mad at him for leaving, barely speaking on the phone, but the littles still wanted to talk to him every night before bed. He watched carefully as the crates were loaded onto the plane. He was going home, with presents.

The guys at the airport looked over his papers and he actually got by without having to put the kittens in quarantine. He was able to take them directly to the ranch. He pulled up to the ranch house, the cubs in the back of the SUV letting him know their displeasure at being confined for so long. They were just going to have to wait a little longer. He dropped a couple treats under the covers and they quieted down enough that the cubs in the house wouldn't hear them.

He opened the door, not really sure what to expect. With this bunch it might be knives at his throat. What he saw made him drop his jaw, and his bag. The banner hanging crookedly across the living room entrance that said "Welcom Home Victr" nearly did him in. They'd all put their handprints on it, even baby Kara's tiny print was there. He felt a strange feeling in his chest, a tightening, and a burning in his eyes, and he let out a low growl. He was not going to go soft.

Maggie, the one who'd handed him Kara the first time ran across the room to hug his leg.

"Victoe's home." He noticed she was missing a few front teeth. As soon as he sat down he was mobbed as all of them tried to climb in his lap at once, all but the eldest two, sullen expressions on both their faces.

"What's your problem?" He growled at them.

"You promised ta take care of us." Rini snarled back.

"And I have, ya've got a roof over your head, plenty ta eat, an adult here ta tale care of the stuff you can't, and yer safe, what the fuck do you want, egg in your beer?" She just glared at him.

"Ya know what, I was gonna ask for your help with a little project, but if yer gonna be that way I'll take the kittens elsewhere." He growled, but he knew he had her attention at kittens.

"I guess we can help." She kicked at a loose piece of carpet. Tymi still hadn't said anything.

"Well, you lot let me get up, I gotta get the cages out of the car." Rini and Tymi followed him closely. The cubs were making a horrible racket, but he didn't want to take the covers off until they were inside.

"Is this what the cages are for." Tymi asked, and Victor picked up the fear. Tymi knew about cages, and they frightened him.

"Yep, wouldn't put you cubs in cages, but these babies are gonna need them." Victor reached out and ruffled his hair. "But not for a while yet." He reminded himself to try to find out where his cubs came from.

He put the two covered cages down in the living room.

"Now all of you will have ta help, but these two are Rini and Tymi's kittens. I'm workin' on kittens for each of you." He pulled the covers off and watched his two little lieutenants faces as they realized what was inside.

"They're lion cubs." Rini finally gasped, a big grin on her face. She ran over to Victor and he picked her up as she reached to give him a hug. "They're really mine?"

"Well, Sasha here is yours. Simba there is Tymi's." He said. Tymi looked up at him, grinning.

"Can we play with them?"

"They're still very young, you'll have to be careful and not hurt them."

The cages were opened and he slipped into the kitchen where Kayla was sitting down. He could hear the low growls of the cubs, and squeals from the littles as they tried to pet the wild animals.

"Lions? Have you lost your mind?" Kayla just looked at him, exhaustion written all over her face.

"Nope, they're endangered, thought about raising a breeding pair for a while, and they'll be good for the cubs." He growled at the frail, he was going to have to look into getting her some help with his cubs.

"You don't know shit about kids do you?" She continued to glare at him, and took a drink of the glass of water in front of her. He somehow suspected this was her first chance to sit down today. He felt something at his ankle and looked down. Little Kara had crawled across the floor, while the other cubs were playing with the lions. He leaned down and picked her up by the back of her one piece outfit. He tucked her into his elbow, and let her pull on his face for a moment.

"Nope, that's your job, I get ta spoil them." He gave her a grin. She just shook her head. He sat down and let the baby poke him in the eye.

"Eighteen feline ferals eating me out of house and home and he goes and brings home hungry lions. What else can go wrong?" Kayla muttered. He ignored her.

Nothing could go wrong. He was home, his cubs were safe and happy and growing. What could possibly go wrong?

He curled up that night in his bed, and ended up with three of the littles curled up with him, and two lion cubs chewing on his toes. He growled, but the cubs just looked at him, and continued playing with his feet. He just closed his eyes, and felt at peace for the first time in almost a year.

The next morning he woke to screaming cubs - both types, and Rini and Tymi arguing outside his door.

"I told you, the cubs should sleep in the cages...now Gerri got bit, and Kayla's pissed because she's got to call the doctor for stitches. Tomorrow the cats sleep in the cage."

"Rini, if Gerry hadn't stuck her hand in Simba's mouth he wouldn't have bitten her. She's gonna be fine."

"You're an idiot, Tymi."

"Your just a girl." Tymi shouted back.

Victor growled and he heard them both jump.

"See, now you woke Victor." Rini snapped.

"I didn't, you did with your yelling." Tymi snapped back. He just covered his head with a pillow, mated or not those were the most cantankerous cubs he'd ever seen. They continued the argument, and even through the pillow he heard them getting louder.

"Will you two shut UP!" he roared.

Of course that woke up Maggie and baby Kara, who started screaming at the top of her lungs. It took almost an hour for everything to settle back down again. Kayla glared at Victor as she fed the baby, and Maggie kept rubbing her eyes while eating her cereal.

"So what exactly was that all about?" Victor snapped at the two oldest cubs. Arguing was one thing, doing it outside his door at oh dark thirty when he hadn't slept in two days, not that he was a morning person anyway, was just uncalled for.

"Simba bit Gerri, and now she's gotta have stitches because she doesn't heal like us." Gerri was one of the toddlers.

"That's what the cub gets for sticking her hand in a lion's mouth. Now she knows better." Victor grumbled. Kayla huffed at him and he growled. She was an employee, and a non mutant one at that, not his mate or even a sometime fuck. She needed to get the attitude under control.

He waited until the older cubs left the room to check on the lions, before addressing Kayla.

"Just what's your problem?"

"Those are wild animals you brought them, and now instead of being here to keep an eye on all of them, I'm going to have to go to town with Gerri and get stitches, and have social services out here, again, trying to take the kids. You need to be here, if you're responsible for them." She said.

"You're going to have to fill me in on what's gone on." He said, nodding. Social services was the last thing he wanted to have to deal with. He knew he could get paperwork that would get rid of them, but that was going to run into some serious money. Last time he checked his main account it was getting low.

He made a few calls, transferred money from his emergency account to the main account. He hoped it would be enough to cover the documentation he was going to have to buy to keep the cubs together. He called his contacts and made arrangements. It took a while, and he wasn't exactly happy with the result, but the cubs would get to stay together here on the ranch, even if he was gone for years. The damned social services would have to inspect the place, and could place mutant kids here if they didn't have someplace else for them. He didn't like the idea of being a designated foster home, but it was the only way to keep the cubs in one spot. He was going to have to hire more help, though, something he'd already decided to do.

He felt hands on his ankle and looked down. Kara was pulling herself up on his leg and he held still. The littlest cub still was frail, thin and small for being almost a year old. He looked down at her face looking up at him, grinning as she let go and stood on her own feet for a few seconds before swaying and dropping down on her padded bottom. She looked so proud of what she'd done that he grinned back at her. She might look frail, but that little cub had a determination that reminded him of Jimmy back in the old days.

He watched the cubs the rest of the day, the new help would be here by the end of the week and he wanted to be ready to leave before they got here. The lion cubs were settling in, and the littles had learned the lesson of putting hands or fingers in a lion's mouth. Little Gerri had two stitches, and would have a scar to remember, since her healing factor hadn't kicked in yet.

His bags were packed and all the cubs waved goodbye as he drove off this time. Even Rini and Tymi seemed more content with his leaving this time. They didn't know it, but this time he was going to get to the bottom of where they came from.


	3. Chapter 3

Feline Sanctuary 3

It took six months of scouring LA and the surrounding area to find any answers. Then it was only a burned out building in the outskirts, five miles from where he'd found the cubs. He stood on the ground floor, the faint scent of the cubs nearly obliterated by the overpowering scent of gas and decay.

He followed the scent to a warped door, behind it was a flight of stairs going down. He followed them, but the fire damage was worse on the sub level. He could smell charred flesh. There were seven cells on one side of a corridor that went the length of the building above. In each cell there was a pile of bones and burned flesh. The scent made him gag, fire wasn't his favorite way to kill. He could smell the bodies were covered with gasoline before being ignited. There were offices on the other side of the corridor but they were burned as completely as the cells across from them, only pieces of twisted metal remained of any furniture.

At the end of the corridor was another staircase. It led down to another sub level. There was a hallway that went left and right from where he stood, and another long corridor in front of him, with doors on only one side. He went left, and found another corridor at the end of the hallway. This floor had minimal fire damage, and he could smell all the cubs strongly through out the floor. The first door he came to, he looked inside. It was a small room, with a one way observation window that the person inside the room couldn't look out, but could be observed from outside. There was a small cot, a few toys abandoned on the floor, and a slightly singed drawing on the wall of the sun. He could smell Rini, strongly in this room.

The next room was about the same, except it was Tymi's scent. Each room on the corridor told the same story, with a different scent. Jane was next, then Rex. He walked down the second corridor, these rooms seemed to progress backwards in age, the third corridor the rooms had cribs instead of cots, except the last four, those had neo-natal incubators in them...twenty one different cubs in all, and only three scents unfamiliar to him, and those were from the infant rooms. The very last room held Kara's scent, and his rage grew with every step he took.

Across from the infant rooms was a single door. He let his rage control him and kicked it right off it's hinges. Inside was the lab, but with no power, and drawers in desks and filing cabinets hanging open and empty. There were four exam tables, like you'd find in a doctor's office, but these had steel restraints. The scents in this room were overpowering to him, pain, fear, grief, tears, agony. People had been tortured in this room, to the point of complete despair, and his claws lengthened in response to the burning rage growing even stronger inside him.

The animal was close to the surface, ready to rend and tear, but he needed to find something, anything to explain what they had tried to do here. He noticed one drawer half open in one of the desks, all the other drawers in this desk were closed but that one. He reached out to push it closed but it wouldn't. He yanked the drawer out and looked inside the opening. He didn't see anything, and was about to throw the drawer across the room when he felt something with a finger tip on the bottom of the drawer. He flipped it over. It was an envelope, a thick one, that had kept the drawer from closing. He ripped it from its place, and opened it. Inside were papers, and disks, computer disks. He glanced around. There were no computers here, they must have been destroyed with all the other evidence. He folded the envelope and slipped it into his coat pocket. He'd look it over later.

He glanced around the lab, familiar with most equipment after his years with Stryker and the Weapon X program. These machines were designed to keep DNA frozen, until needed, most likely sperm, since the smell from the tables was all female, he assumed they'd harvested ovum directly from their subjects. He turned, to walk away, but the rage consumed him.

It was at least an hour later when he came back to himself. The lab was completely destroyed, his claw marks where he'd ripped metal to shreds testament to his rage. His cubs had been created here, and hurt here, and he wanted to be able to tell them that it would never happen again.

He walked slowly up the last flight of stairs and pushed open the warped door. Standing in a pool of sunlight streaming through broken windows was a familiar face.

"Creed."

"Fury, what do you want?" Victor snarled.

"To find out what you found out, down there." Nick said, his leather jacket creaking as he moved slightly.

"Not a damned thing." Victor lied.

"I don't believe you." Fury said.

"There's nothing down there, but you already know that."

"I was hoping your nose would pick up on something. There were a hell of a lot of kids down there, and they just vanished." Fury said, his teeth gleaming against his dark skin as he smiled at Victor. Victor knew that smile, it meant Fury had the upper hand, or at least thought he did.

"Nope, nothin." Victor snarled.

"Too bad, I understand you're starting to breed endangered cats?"

"What's it to ya?"

"I wouldn't want anything to happen to that little ranch of yours, your license to breed get pulled, or your foster home rating...bunch of good lookin' offspring you got there, Creed."

"You stay away from my cubs, or I'll rip your other eye out." Victor snarled.

Fury just laughed. "I'm not interested in your cubs. I just want to know they are safe, well cared for, and away from trouble if it comes."

Victor snarled.

"Creed, these kids, this place was not sanctioned. Your work on Weapon X, as much as it was dirty from the start because of Stryker, was at least sanctioned. This was a rogue group, working on their own, trying to create something that frankly should have been left alone. All I care about is that the kids are safe. SHIELD won't bother you or them."

He thought about that for a second. SHIELD already knew he had them, and was taking care of them. He just nodded.

"If you found anything down there, all I'm asking is you share the information, and if you do, I can funnel some work your way, your kind of work and at a decent rate." Fury said.

"I didn't find shit." Victor growled.

"Call me if you change your mind." Fury said and turned to walk out the burned doorway.

"I'll think about the work offer...got a lot of mouths to feed." Victor growled after him. Fury just nodded and walked through the door.

Victor followed a few minutes later, but Fury was nowhere to be seen. SHIELD contracts were safe, he wouldn't have to worry about keeping the cubs fed if he got caught doing unsanctioned work. If the information in the envelope was something he wanted to share with Fury, he'd give him a call, but first he wanted to look at it himself.

He climbed onto his motorcycle and headed north. He had a bolt hole in northern LA, and he wanted time to go over what he'd found.

He climbed into the window, the bike parked at a nearby bar where no one would even look twice at it. He pulled the envelope out and spread the contents over his cot. There were several hard floppy disks, and pages of notes. He picked the notes up and started to read.

_Week 5: Subject 1 and 4 took invetro well, embryos developing at a normal rate. Subject 2 miscarried after three weeks. Subject 3 is progressing with difficulty, probable miscarriage mid term. Hopeful the primate mutation develops with the alterations._

_Week 20 Subjects 1 and 4 progressing against all expectations. Am noticing definite signs of mutation in the fetuses, however not primate, am noticing vestigial claws on finger and toe development as well as almost feline features in the face on ultrasound._

_Week 41 Subjects 1 and 4 returned to confinement. Given gene therapy to speed recovery after birth. A female and a male infant developing well. The decision was made to name the infants, Rini and Tymi. Both infants show definite mutation of a feline feral variety, which is surprising considering the source for the sperm used for the invetro. Will have to try to adjust the genetics differently on the next round. We now have 5 subject females to use for gestation._

_Second round _

_Week 8 Subject 3 and 5 progressing, Subjects 1, 2, and 4 miscarried. Hopeful the mutation modifications proceed normally. Rini and Tymi are just over one year, elongated canine teeth on top and bottom jaw as well as retractable claws in each finger and toe. Rini is showing signs of enhanced senses, Tymi exhibits territorial behavior around Rini. This breeding pair showing viability even this young._

_Week 32 Subject 3 went into premature labor, delivered healthy baby boy. Named him Rex. Rex showing same feline characteristics as first subject group. Beginning to think it is the manipulation of the genes creating the outcome. Rini and Tymi exhibiting enhanced senses, TPTB have decided to continue with the feline enhancements, forgoing the primate mutation in the original sperm samples._

_Week 43 Subject 5 finally delivered female infant, low birth weight, low APGAR scores, monitoring for the next 48 to 72 hours. Jane shows same feline characteristics. Will continue modifications to gene sequence in next round of development._

He'd read enough for now. He groaned. He was going to have to sort out who came from which subject mother, just to make sure there wasn't any cross breeding as they got older. He looked at the disks and hoped the information on how much the mutation had changed between birth groups, as well as within the male genetics to allow for a breeding population.

He packed the disks back into the envelope along with the notes. He already hated whoever had created this project, and if he ever caught any break finding out who they were, he'd rip them to shreds. His cubs shouldn't have to go through this, and he was going to blunt the blow as much as he could. He sat down and worked out a rough chart of siblings.

Rini had three siblings, David, May, and Baby Kara. Tymi had two sisters, Gerri and Mary, Jane had only one sibling, Paul. Rex had a sister Jenny. In the next eldest group, the ones that had been seven when he found them, Keith had a younger sister, Susan. Peter had two siblings, John and Jake. His little Maggie had one brother, Matt.

He drove through the night, the list running through his head. Should he tell them, or just wait and see if they needed to be told. He knew how much it had meant to him, knowing Jimmy was his brother, not just a kid he was responsible for. Maybe if they knew, the older siblings would take a bigger responsibility for their younger siblings. He turned it over in his mind, and still wasn't sure what he was going to do the next evening when he pulled to a stop in front of the house.

Rini and Tymi were sitting on the top step of the porch, and he chuckled as they jumped up and ran toward him.

"Any new kittens?"

"Not yet. Did the one's I shipped home arrive safely?" They both nodded. The black panther cubs had been a lucky find.

"Are you staying a while?" Rini asked.

"I don't know yet." She'd grown over the last two years, and was a gangly, awkward thirteen year old.

"Let him get off the bike, sheish." Tymi tried to snarl, but it cracked. Victor had to grin. He was definitely growing into his voice. He was not quite into that awkward teenage stage, even being thirteen years old, and barely had any fuzz on his chin.

"I need ta talk ta you two, later." Victor said as he unpacked his saddlebags.

"We didn't do it." They both said, and this time Victor burst out laughing.

"You're not in trouble, I just want ta talk about where you came from." He said.

They both stopped, and just looked at each other, then back to him. "Cubs, I found the lab, okay. I want ta hear from you what happened in there. I ain't mad, well not at you. I'd like ta find the assholes that did this and rip their guts out." He snarled.

"You found it?" Rini asked.

"Yeah."

She just nodded, and grabbed one of his bags. "It wasn't bad, until they decided to shut it down." She said softly. "We stayed in our rooms, and got to go up to the first floor once a day or so to play in a big playground. We had lessons and stuff up there too. Then one day, we were in our rooms and I smelled smoke. It smelled really bad, but then it started to rain and the doors opened up. Tymi and I grabbed the other kids, and carried the babies out."

"The upper floor was on fire, we could smell something really bad, and hear people screaming and moaning, but we just had to get the littles out of there. We went up to the first floor." Tymi picked up the story. "It was burning and there were no people. The front door was locked, but we found a back door that wasn't and we got the littles out that way. It was an alley, and we moved down it as quietly as we could."

"We moved from place to place til we found the building where you found us." Rini said. "We were having problems with the babies, we couldn't steal food for them, and three of them died. We kept trying with baby Kara, and one day I got lucky, there was a woman in a park who had a baby with her, and a bag on the ground with some bottles in it. It wasn't milk like we made when you brought us stuff, it was a lot clearer, and didn't smell like milk. I took three of the woman's bottles and Kara seemed to like it."

"That's when she decided we needed money to buy baby stuff, 'cuz Kara started to get better." Tymi glared at her.

"I'd seen girls not much older than me go into alleys and stuff with older guys, and I'd watch what they did. I figured I could do that, if I could get paid for it. But, well you saw how bad the guy beat me up the first time I tried." Rini said, blushing and tears on her cheeks.

"Well it worked out, you're here and safe." Victor pulled her into a rough hug. He never did well with frail shit like tears.

That night, after the cubs went to their own beds he started going through the disks. It was a lot of information, and he knew he was going to need help deciphering some of it. He didn't know any geneticists he trusted so he just locked the information in his desk. It would keep. The cubs had a few years before they needed to know anything more than they did.

He picked up the phone and dialed a number he'd rather forget.

"Fury."

"I've got some info on the lab. I can send you copies." Victor said, a deep growl in his voice.

"I'll swing by and pick it up." Fury said. "I might have a job or two lined up, if you're interested."

"I'm interested." He growled. At least working for SHIELD the cubs would be safe, he'd see to that.

"I'll stop by tomorrow." Fury said and hung up.

Victor made quick copies of the disks and the notes, and then locked the originals up in his safe. He wasn't going to let those out of his possession.

He collapsed into his bed, and almost as soon as he kicked his boots off, Maggie and two of the toddlers came creeping into his room, and up onto the bed. He just sighed as Kara curled up against his shoulder, her little had resting on his neck. Someday he was going to have to stop them, but tonight, after what he'd seen, having them here would keep his own nightmares at bay.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N Okay up until now things have been all Victor's point of view, but it's time to let the other lead speak. This one is a little shorter, and takes a larger leap. Don't worry you will get flashbacks to the intervening 12 years.

XXXXXXXXXX

She didn't get a kitten this time either. She knew she'd have her own eventually, and she loved to play with the others, even after they were grown and moved to the breeding pens. He was like a favorite uncle to the others, always bringing presents, never staying very long and always played with the cubs, all of them.

She missed him when he was gone, it was like a deep ache in her, she'd first noticed it when he missed the science fair. She never wanted to be on the ranch when he was gone, it just felt empty. She didn't think any of the others noticed that she spent more time with her human friends when he was gone, but the ranch was just empty without him, even with all her siblings around.

He arrived last night and she couldn't wait to see him. She'd heard the truck come up the drive, and the rattle of cages as the new kittens were unloaded. This time they were Burmese Tigers and she couldn't wait to get to know them. She was too old to crawl into bed with him like she used to, so she waited. She sat up all night. She wanted to be the first one to welcome him home. She dozed off a little bit, and the knock of her head against the hallway wall woke her up. She looked at her watch and grinned. She knew he'd be up soon.

She tried to stay upstairs, but she could smell breakfast cooking downstairs. Kayla was really cooking a big breakfast, she even smelled waffles. She was debating being the first to see him this morning or filling her growling belly.

She heard a loud noise from his room, and his voice in the low tone that everyone on the ranch knew meant Victor Creed was very, very unhappy with someone. Another loud noise, and another voice she knew all too well. It was like a train wreck, but she couldn't move if she tried. The door to his room opened and Maggie came flying out and slammed into the hallway wall, cracking the sheet rock, her face bloody with four long gashes that were slowly healing.

"You bastard, you're going to regret this. It has to be me. I'm the only one without a mate, I have to be yours."

"You're right, you are the only one without a mate." His tone was still low. "And if you ever try something like this again, you heal just slow enough that I could kill you."

Kara blanched. He was serious, she knew Maggie was a pain in the ass, but to threaten to kill her?

"We'll see, Victor. You need me."

"No I don't. I'm not one of you, I wasn't created in a lab and I don't have your need to find a mate, now get the fuck out of my sight, before I change my mind and kill you."

This time even Maggie blanched. Kara froze, she knew any movement would turn his attention to her. Maggie stormed down the hallway, digging grooves into the sheet rock with her claws.

He stood there, his back to her, watching Maggie walk down the hall.

"Did ya catch all that, cub?" His voice was still low.

"Sorry, I was kinda stuck." Kara said, she knew being direct was her best bet when he was angry.

"Not your fault." He shrugged and turned back to his room. She suddenly noticed he didn't have a shirt on, and he had bruises and cuts unhealed on his body.

"Victor, do you need help?"

"I'll be fine." He growled, but it was softer.

"Is that from the fall?" She asked. She was trying to concentrate on his wounds, not the fact that he was standing there in nothing but a pair of boxers.

"What fall?" This time the growl was threatening.

"I was watching the news last month. I was sure it was you that fell from the Statue."

"Did you say anything to anyone?"

"No."

"Good cub, I'll heal, so don't worry." He walked over and ruffled her hair.

"Are you working with the Brotherhood?"

"Kid, you notice too much shit. Go back to your dolls."

"I'm almost sixteen, and drive better than Rini does, I'm not a kid."

"Kara, you're all kids ta me. Now go get breakfast, no one could sleep through your stomach growling." He ruffled her hair again, and she slipped past him in the narrow hallway. She thought she felt his hand linger on her arm, but when she looked back, he was already in his room

"...then he threw me out of his room. I don't know what he's been doing lately but he's turned mean." Maggie was saying as she walked into the kitchen. The marks on her face were sealed but there were still four jagged red lines across it.

"Maybe if horney feral females stayed the hell out of his bed, he wouldn't be so mean." Kayla said, glancing at Kara as if she were part of this.

"Hey, I was stuck in the hall, someone pass the waffles." She dropped into her chair at the long dining room table. Being fifteen and the youngest in the house gave her some privileges. "Even I know better than to mess with Victor before he's had a cup of coffee."

Maggie just glared at her. Kara wondered what the hell her problem was.

"He said I was the only one without a mate...there should be two of us, so tell me Kara, who're you shacking up with?" Maggie asked.

"I don't know what the hell you're talking about. I'm too busy with the cats to worry about boys." She dumped half the pitcher of syrup over her waffles and grabbed four slices of bacon off the plate on the table. She poured herself some apple juice from the pitcher and concentrated on her food.

"Maybe he just forgot about you, its easy enough to do." Maggie said. Kara gritted her teeth and took another bite of food. She was ready to agree with Victor, killing Maggie deserved a second thought.

"Enough. Maggie go to your room." Kayla said.

"I'm twenty, I don't need to be sent to my room."

"Then you can fucking leave." Victor said from the door. "Kara, don't eat so fast, you'll choke."

She glared at him as he filled a plate, he really was in a mood today. She scarffed down the last of her food and stood up.

"I'm gonna go check on the cats." She started.

"Rini and Tymi fed them this morning. Don't you have a book report due Monday you need to finish?" Kayla reminded her. She groaned.

"Yeah, but I can finish it later. I really just need to do something physical."

"Be back by lunch. You're not skipping the homework." Kayla said.

"Only five left in school, and four of those are graduating this year..." Kara heard Kayla talking to Victor. She ran for the hunting range. If the cats were fed, that meant her favorite tree was empty. She climbed up to near the top, and looked down on the ranch. The nine fenced off breeding areas were arranged around the central ten acre hunting area, each breeding area had a gate into it. Kara could see the lions were sunning themselves on top of the enclosure. They actually had eight lions now, Sasha and Simba produced four cubs per litter. They'd actually had to trade with some zoos to keep the pride from inbreeding, but it was working and Sasha was pregnant again.

The leopards were tucked away inside the shelter in the breeding area. They weren't very social since they were moved to the enclosure. She thought it was because they missed playing with the cubs at the house. The Siberian Tigers were separated until she went into heat. They kept trying to kill each other, something Kara didn't understand.

She couldn't see the jaguars so they must be inside the enclosure. She was looking for the Bengal's when she felt the tree shake. She looked down and saw Victor climbing up.

"So this is where you hide?" He said as he settled on a branch under her.

"I wouldn't call it hiding. I can see all the pens from here, it lets me keep an eye on them."

"Uhh-huh." He straddled two branches and leaned back. He looked relaxed, and she realized she was effectively trapped if she didn't want to jump down.

"So...dodging homework?'

"No. Just don't feel like doing it right now." If he was going to go all Father Dearest on her she'd just jump down and take a long hike.

"Yeah, I never was big on doing homework either."

"I'm not avoiding it." She dodged again.

"Yep." She glared down at him.

"So about this morning..."

"None of my business." She said, hoping he couldn't smell the lie.

"Kid..." He started.

"If you're gonna keep that up just go inside and fuck Maggie. I'm sick of being called cub and kid and "Baby Kara." She snarled.

"Okay - shit...I told ya, all you cubs are kids ta me. I'm over one hundred years old for God's sake."

She thought about that, he'd never said much about himself, mostly a few stories or stuff they picked up when Fury came by. None of them knew much about him.

"That old huh...maybe we should call you 'Old Timer." She snapped back.

He chuckled. "Won't be the first ones...my brother used ta call me that sometimes, when he was getting uppity."

"You have a brother?"

"Yep, four years younger than me, which means he's as old as dirt, too."

"What's his name?"

"Jimmy. James Howlett. We're half brothers, same Pa, different Ma's."

"Where is he?"

"Well he quit speaking to me about fifteen years ago. I haven't seen him since, or hadn't until that little incident we don't want to talk about last month."

"He was there?"

"Yeah, didn't recognize me though, which kind of bugs the shit out of me."

"Why?"

"Well if he can't remember me, then he can't apologize for being a dumbass and walking out on me." He snapped.

"Uhhh..okay. So James is a dipshit."

"Pretty much."

She laughed, she happened to actually be looking at him, and the strange look on his face made her stomach lurch.

"So, you gonna do your homework?"

"Later."

He just nodded. They sat in the tree for several hours. He started talking about James and how they'd started out together, he talked about the wars, and fighting side by side. Kara just sat there and listened. She wondered if any of the others had ever had him talk to them like this. She just listened, commenting occasionally, but mostly listened as he told her about his life.

She finally got down to the question she was dying to ask.

"When will I get my kitten?"

"Well, ya see about that, I'm lookin' for a very special kitten...thought ta be extinct, but I've heard rumors that they still exist in certain places."

"Come on...I'm good with the cats. Why can't I have one of my own."

"I told ya, I'm working on it." He smiled, and she wanted to punch him. It was a smile that said he knew something she didn't.

"Fine, who needs a stupid cat anyway." She jumped down and headed back into the house. Let him figure out how to get out of the tree. She heard him behind her and she started to run. He caught her quickly and threw her over his shoulder. He carried her like a sack of feed in the door, and up the stairs to her room. He tossed her across her bed.

"You have homework, Cub." He glared, but he was grinning. She growled, but reached for her book. She just hoped he hadn't realized that her heart was racing, her palms were sweating, and she was going to remember the feel of his shoulder in his gut, his hand on her ass holding her in place, and the sight of his ass as he ran across the yard to the end of her days.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

He shut the door and let her get to work. This was going to have to be a very short stay. She was already too tempting. He had no idea why he'd talked to her like that, told her about his life. That wasn't true, he knew why. He'd told Maggie the truth. She was the only one without a mate on the ranch. Victor sighed. He wasn't sure what was worse. Having to wait till his grew up...or the fact that he hadn't even looked at a frail in years. He closed his bedroom door and locked it this time. He definitely needed another cold shower.


	5. Chapter 5

It went on for a week. Maggie wasn't one who gave up. Kara watched her corner Victor any and every chance she got. Kara knew Victor would leave soon if it didn't stop.

Something else that didn't stop was him waiting until she was up her tree, then climbing onto the lower branches to talk. She glanced down at the lower branches, waiting on him to show up. He'd been telling her stories about his life, about his brother, even about what he did to support them all. That part didn't bother her as much as it probably should, but then again they raised great cats for fun and she understood being a predator.

"You're out here early." He said as he settled into his favorite Y branch below her.

"Finished my homework early." She said softly, not wanting their voices to disturb the lions nearby.

"You made any decisions where you want to go for college?" He was shaking the branches under her, getting his legs comfortable in the tree.

"Damn it, Victor, I'm a freshman, all I'm thinking about is a car." She heard his soft chuckle.

"You still want to be a vet?" He asked. It was funny he should ask that question, because she still did. She wanted nothing more than to be able to take care of the cats if they got sick. She could feel what they felt, and she always knew when they were sick. They all had some sort of secondary mutation besides the feral, and hers was animal empathy. She nodded, knowing he'd see it in the dark.

"Remember that science fair five years ago?" She nodded again, what the hell was he asking about that for?

"The one they took away my first prize trophy for, because 'mutants cannot compete in scholastic programs with normal students' crap?" She still seethed over that, she stroked the chain around her neck. She'd been so angry when they took the prize away, but Victor bought her a tiny first place medal in gold and put it on a chain for her, he said to remind her that she still won.

"I'm workin' with a guy who's tryin ta make it harder ta do shit like that." He growled a little, and she knew he wasn't happy with the results so far. She could almost read his emotions too, sometimes she wondered if it was because he was so close to his inner animal.

"You mean Magneto?"

"Yeah, him and Nick Fury." She heard the grunt, she knew he liked and hated Nick. She'd only met him once, and had no desire to repeat the encounter.

"Yeah, fat lot of good Magneto did in New York, nearly got YOU killed." She still hadn't told him just how scared - no panicked she'd been watching him fall from the statue. She'd gone to her camp sight, and cried for days, a big gaping empty place in her heart where Victor lived. She'd come back to the house about a week before he showed up.

"That didn't work, no, but there's other places, other things we're doin that are making a difference." He sounded like he wanted to believe it. She knew that science fair was his catalyst, what made him take Magneto's offer to try to change how mutants were treated.

She shrugged. She hated humans sometimes, and sometimes she felt sorry for them, they were so ordinary, unable to sense the feelings of her cats, unable to heal without pain or suffering, even the little things like seeing in the dark, hearing everything, and the world of scents around them. Even touch, she couldn't imagine what it would feel like to wear some of the things kids at school wore, she'd itch constantly.

"That mean you're gonna have to leave soon?" She asked.

"For a while."

She just nodded. He didn't owe her an explanation, she was just a cub.

"See ya when you get back."

"Kara..." He whispered her name and she couldn't stop the tremble that ran through her body. He stiffened on the branches below her, and suddenly dropped to the ground. She watched him walk away, and a shadow slip from the darkness to follow him, Maggie.

She wasn't going to pretend anymore. She knew Maggie always got her way, and Maggie had always been one of his favorite cubs. Well, she wasn't going to sit around and watch either. She hoped he didn't know about the bag she had stashed, or the money she'd saved, then matched out of the household account they all had access to. She was going to have something in her life that wasn't someone else's rejects, and she knew Maggie would get tired of Victor, he was too violent for Maggie, really, her healing factor wouldn't ever keep up with him.

Kara felt a moment of pride. Her healing was as strong or stronger than his, her senses as sharp or sharper, and she had the advantage of the animal empathy. Of course, she was a kid, and Maggie was grown, although she didn't act like it half the time. Victor wouldn't wait for a kid like her, even if she would be his perfect mate.

She waited until all the lights were out in the main house before dropping to the ground and running toward the backside of the ranch. They were used to her taking off and camping, just to get away for a while, so it would be a few days before she was missed and she hoped to be long gone by then.

She grabbed her bag from the pile of rocks she'd hidden it under. She also had a small bicycle, and rode through the night.

She had an ID that wasn't exactly right, but she'd kept it after Kayla took her to get it corrected. It said Carol Reed, and wasn't expired, and she knew she could get by on it for a while. Kayla didn't know she still had it, so probably wouldn't remember having to get it fixed.

She rode past the closest towns, thanking her healing and stamina for allowing her to ride without stopping, knowing they'd look for signs of her there first. One thing she'd learned from all his stories, was how to hide in plain sight. She stopped in one town, bought a bus ticket for Las Vegas with her regular ID, then rode out of that town and past the next three. It took her four days to get to her destination, but along the way she'd managed to steal a hair color out of a woman's bag while she was waiting on a bench, to catch her breath.

She colored her strawberry hair to the brown that the Carol Reed I'd said she had. The brown eyes were so common she didn't bother. She hid out for a week, doubt setting in, wanting to go back home, watching for any signs that they were looking for her. She finally went to the bus terminal and bought a ticket for Montana. She could hunt up there, keep herself fed, and there weren't a lot of people to bother her.

XXXXXXXXX

"What do you mean she's missing. You told me she went camping?" He roared into the phone. His damned mate was missing and he was just now hearing about it six weeks later.

"We thought she'd gone to her camp spot, when we didn't find her there after a few days we started checking with her friends...and then I found the twenty five hundred dollars missing from the household account." Kayla said through the phone. "We've called the sheriff but he said we should have called sooner, Victor, I'm really worried."

"Did she say anything to anyone?". His heart was racing, Stryker had a new program going, and he didn't want Kara to fall into his hands. He trusted her to take care of herself from anyone else, but he was going to have nightmares about Stryker hurting his mate now, he just knew it.

"She said something to one of her friends at school about being tired of hand-me-downs and cast-offs from her siblings." He shook his head. Cast-offs, hand-me-downs?

"What the hell? I send more than enough money that none of the cubs should have to deal with that."

"It was Maggie's idea, recycle and save money. Everyone voted on it." Victor growled through the phone. Another good reason for sending the damned octopus away from the ranch. The morning after his last talk with Kara he'd had to throw her out of his room again, this time she was naked. He'd given her a one way ticket to anywhere and fifty thousand dollars and left to see if Fury had anything for him to do.

"If you hear from her, call me. I'll see what I can do from this end." Fury was going to kill him for using SHIELD resources, but fuck him.

XXXXXXX

She'd been on her own for three months when she met him. Montana had been a bust, too damned cold, and upstate New York wasn't much better. She hated cities and was trying to stick to smaller towns, but that meant moving more often. She'd been trying to get a nap behind a pizza place that had an old fashioned brick oven, when he'd kicked her in the side, but after sitting in the diner with him and he paid for her meal, she was sure. It was Jimmy, Victor's brother. She wasn't going to say anything, whatever was between him and Victor was their issue.

"Don't eat much, do ya Kid?" He grunted, cutting a piece of his stake and washing it down with a swallow of his beer.

"Never did, even at home." She said, picking at her salad. Why hadn't he ordered her a steak like his?

"So, how long have you known?" He coughed around another piece of rare meat, the scent had her mouth watering, but he was paying so she'd eat what he paid for.

"Known what?" The salad at least had some grilled chicken on it so she could get some protein out of it.

"That you're a mutant?"

"All my life. Grew up with seventeen brothers and sisters, all mutants." He grunted again, and concentrated on his steak for a while. He seemed like he was starving, but didn't look it. She guessed his healing factor was over extended and he was feeding it. He noticed her watching him, and glared.

"Why ya runnin?" She could tell it was as close as he'd get to prying.

"Got tired of being the low man on the totem pole." She said. He grunted and nodded.

"There's a place, safe for mutants, I'm on my way back there, you're welcome ta tag along." She thought about it. If it were anyone but Victor's brother she wouldn't trust it, but Jimmy was family even if he couldn't remember it. She just shrugged, then nodded.

The bike he was riding was nice. Someday she wanted to learn to ride one on her own. Victor had an old Harley Davidson Sportster he kept telling her he'd teach her. She bit back a sob. It was not going to happen. She didn't think a man like Victor would turn down what Maggie was offering, and Kara wasn't going to be second, not with Victor.

She clung to Logan as he punched a button on the handle bars. She definitely wanted to learn to ride this thing. It took them two hours to make it to the gates. If she hadn't been used to the huge ranch house, this place would have been intimidating. She unstrapped her bag from the bike as he walked in the front door. She wasn't paying attention to him, just followed.

_Kara, I am down in Cerebro. You are welcome to stay, but please call Kayla or Victor to let them know you are alive and well. They are concerned._

She jumped. "Who the hell..."

_Professor Charles Xavier, this is my school. You may use the phone in my office if you would like. I need to speak to Logan, and thank you for your discretion with him. He needs to recover his memories on his own, and not have them forced on him._

She just grunted a Logan like grunt and walked into the room the voice in her head directed her to. It was a fancy office, almost as nice as Victor's at the ranch. She felt the voice in her head chuckle.

_Call them._

"Get out of my head." She grumbled, but picked up the phone. She dialed the main number for the ranch.

"Creed's Animal Sanctuary, Kayla speaking."

"It's me." She said softly.

"Where are you? We've been worried to death. Victor has been abusing SHIELD resources trying to find you." Kayla was shouting.

"Can you keep it down, I can hear you fine." Kara snapped. She'd gotten used to being alone, and didn't like anyone yelling at her, it hurt her ears.

She heard the phone hit the floor, and then "WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU, CUB!" He shouted in her ear.

"Someplace safe." She said softly.

"Yeah I bet you are, I KNOW this number." He growled.

"Yeah, that's what the damned head talker said. He also said I can stay if I want and he won't force me to go back." She was getting angry.

"You're gonna get your ass back home if I have to drag you..."

"No, I'm not. I want something for myself, I don't want to have to rely on anyone else for anything. I'm tired of being the last one in line, the last one for anything. I don't want anything thrown away by someone else. I want MY life." She hissed the last, getting angrier as she talked.

"What the hell are you talking about?" She could hear the confusion.

"If you don't know, then maybe you should stick around a while and see how things go around there. I want to be able to buy my own clothes, and have things that fit. I don't want to be laughed at anymore for being a rag-bag. I want my own electronics, not something someone else broke three hand-me-downs ago, and I have to figure out how to fix it. And I don't want to be second choice to anyone for any reason. I'm going to build my own life...and I'm starting now." She hung up the phone. She heard him yelling as the handset hit the cradle.

He was going to have to let her have her own life. Just because there was a huge hole in her soul, just because she felt like half of her heart had been ripped out and left bleeding on the floor, she wasn't going to beg him, she wasn't going to crawl home to watch him playing house with her sister, she just wasn't strong enough to get through that sane.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 5

He searched everywhere he could think of, until Fury cut him off. She had to be somewhere. She'd been gone three months and he was starting to feel something he rarely admitted to, fear.

Then she called, and from Xavier's of all places. He'd literally called yesterday, and she hadn't been there, which meant she arrived today. Where had she been for three months, and what was that shit about her own life.

He felt abandoned, again. Jimmy had been one thing, but this was his mate. She'd run to get away from him. He felt the anger, and as much as he hated to admit it, pain, growing inside him. He wasn't going to beg. If she wanted her own life by God she could have it, he'd stay a continent away and hope the empty place that only she filled would go numb. If she didn't want him, fuck her!

XXXXXXXXXXX

She hung up the phone and a girl with white streaks in the front of her hair walked in.

"The Professor asked me ta show ya to a room. Ah'm Rogue." She held out a gloved hand.

Kara shook it. "Where's Logan?"

"With the Professor.". Kara picked up her bag and followed Rogue across the huge entry way to a flight of stairs. On the second floor, Rogue opened a door. Inside were four twin sized beds, three of them were occupied.

"This one's yers." Rogue said.

"Thanks." Kara said as she dropped her bag on the empty bed.  
>This is Jubilee, Kitty's over there and this one's mine. Kara smiled through the introduction, glad her time at the ranch taught her how to hide her true feelings. She didn't like roommates, and now she was stuck with three she didn't even know.<p>

"Kara." She said.

"Dinner is in about an hour." Rogue said as she dropped onto the bed. "You came in with Logan?"

"Yeah, he bought me lunch and told me about this place, said I could tag along since he was on his way back here."

Rogue nodded, and fingered a chain around her neck. Kara could smell possessiveness and jealousy. She wasn't going to give anyone an advantage over her, yet. She pulled stuff for a shower out of her bag, towel, shampoo and conditioner, her toothpaste and brush, and a change of clean clothes. Kitty pointed to the only other door in the room. Kara slipped inside the spacious bathroom.

After a long hot shower and finally feeling warm again she stood in front of the full length mirror mounted on the back of the door.

There wasn't much to look at, her boobs weren't very developed, not like Maggie's curves. Her legs and arms were too long, she looked like an adolescent lioness, gangly and uncoordinated. She frowned, remembering the neglege Maggie had worn, how her legs and arms were smooth and proportioned right. Kara opened a drawer under the sink and found a pair of scissors. She wasn't a part of that family any more, she wasn't going to wear that damned pony tail any more. She put the scissors on the counter and put on her bra and panties she grabbed her hair and tried to get a grip on it and the scissors. She let out a little yowl in frustration.

"Need some help?" The one named Kitty stuck her head in the door.

"I want it gone. He always liked it long but I hate it." She hissed. Kitty picked up the scissors and pulled the rubber band holding Kara's hair out. Kitty parted it down the middle and cut one side evenly, then the other. Kara watched as her hair curled in a dozen different directions.

"There, much better." Kitty said. "My dad was like that too, wanting his little girl to be a little girl. I cut mine off too after I got here."

"Not my dad." Kara whispered. She yawned. Her body was tired even with the healing factor. "I'm gonna skip dinner and just sleep." She said as she pulled her nightshirt over her head.

"Okay, want us to bring you a tray in case you wake up?"

"No, just let me sleep." The others were gone when she and Kitty left the bathroom. Kara curled up under the covers, the chill in the air making her shiver even under the two blankets on the bed.

XXXXXXXXXX

Victor stared at the cityscape before him. Hong Kong was a great place to get lost in. Now he just had to forget. He walked back into the hotel room, the massage table gleaming in the middle of the room. The red eye had been exactly that, and a good massage and a whore in his bed sounded like the best way to end an otherwise rotten day.

Her hands were skilled and the tension drained from his body, only to come back ten fold when he realized her skilled hands didn't get a response from him at all. Normally he'd have the first whore begging for her life while the second begged for more, but he wasn't responding at all. He tipped them both and growled. He should have known better, without his mate, he might as well be a eunuch.

He tossed and turned in the expensive sheets, waking up with her name on his lips. Every time he would curse her, and swear he never wanted to hear her name again, and every time he woke to the echo of his voice crying out her name.

He finally seemed to go to sleep, real sleep to have it destroyed by a nightmare.

_She woke slightly as the darts hit her, she shook her head, groggy, trying to move. One of the soldiers hit her in the face with the butt of his rifle. She was half conscious as they threw her and sic other forms into a helicopter._

_She was dragged down a corridor, and a soft southern voice that made her skin crawl said "No, that one goes to the lab. Ah want ta see if it is strong enough for a little surprise for an old friend."_

_Her eyes locked on his face for a moment, the graying hair and beard no disguise for the pure evil in his blue eyes._

_"You tell Victor I'm comin' for him next." They lifted her onto a table, strapped her down and cut her clothing off. A woman with a blue surgical mask over her face started drawing blue lines along her body as another one inserted an iv into her arm. Whatever was in it made everything swim together._

_Her next clear moment, she saw Jimmy's face over her. He was trying to say something but she just wanted to sleep. She closed her eyes and felt herself lifted and carried some place cold. She drifted in and out of consciousness, feeling a sharp pain for a few moments, and then it was gone. She drifted into darkness but someone pounding on her chest woke her. She could hear sounds around her but it was like they were in a tunnel._

_"...heartbeat, her breathing is way too shallow."_

_"Just keep...Jean NO!"_

_"She's gone. She's gone. She's gone." Jimmy's voice, chanting with deep sobs. Then blackness again._

_This time it was longer._

_"...pulse. Get her on the respirator."_

_"We need a doctor."_

_"I've called Doctor McCoy." The professor's voice, harsh with unshed tears._

_This time the blackness wasn't complete, and when she woke she was in a medical room with shiny metal walls. She looked at her reflection..._

He sat up straight in the bed. She'd cut her hair. That was when he knew it hadn't been just a dream. He just hoped to hell, Jimmy got to her in time, and that Stryker was dead.

XXXXXXXXX

She looked at herself in the gleaming surface of the wall. Her hair was wild, curling around her face and head like Simba's mane. She felt a little disoriented as I'd she should be in a large luxury hotel room, but it faded quickly.

The door opened and the Professor and Jimmy came in.

"I'm glad you're awake finally." The Professor said kindly. His eyes were red, she noticed, and James looked like he was in a trance.

"Do you want me to leave.". Something had happened, and somehow she knew it was her fault.

"No, child. You are welcome to stay as long as you like. I want to introduce you to someone. Someone special. He will explain what we found in your DNA."

The door opened and her jaw dropped. The first thing she noticed was the fur, blue, the most ungodly, unnatural shade of blue. The second thing was his eyes, a hazel blue that was so familiar she began trying to place them.

"Kara, this is Doctor Hank McCoy."

"Hi."

"Hello." She could tell he wanted to say more, but something was holding him back.

"Logan, let's let these two get better acquainted." James just nodded and walked out.

"So you found something weird in my DNA, huh?" She asked.

"I suppose you could call it weird. I am still digesting the serendipity of it." He sat down on a chair. She sat up, and was suddenly very glas someone had managed to ger her into a pair of sweats.

"There are some inconsistencies that are troubling, and probably explain your prolonged recovery."

"So what's the scoop?" She asked, swinging her legs over the side of the exam table.

"I don't really know where to start...we found an anomaly when we were trying to find out why you had such an adverse reaction to the morphine they used on you at Alkali Lake. I did a complete breakdown of your DNA and cross referenced all known mutants with healing capabilities. I was shocked to say the least when a familiar DNA sequence came up. You have an allergy to morphine, the same reaction your father has when it is used, nearly killed m...him once."

She wouldn't have caught the slip, but she was used to listening to Victor and reading between the lines.

"You're our father?"

"Our? There's more than just you?"

"Seventeen others to be exact, well there were originally twenty-one but the three of the babies died. I'm the youngest." For some reason it didn't feel strange, and when she glance at the metal wall over his head, those same eyes looked back at her.

"I'm not sure I can handle eighteen children." He said.

"And, at last count fifteen grandchildren." She said, without cracking a smile. Watching blood drain from his blue face was almost funny. "But they're all in Texas and probably would rather forget I'm alive, so I won't say anything if you don't."

He suddenly smiled and she realized she had something none of the others did, something where she would always be the first.

"I suppose calling you Dad would be kinda stupid at this point." She grinned.

"I think a first name basis to start with. It is rather ironic, as careful as I have always been with my DNA, I'm the one with eighteen children, and didn't get to even have the fun of creation."

Kara laughed with him, somehow she felt safe with him, the only other person she'd ever felt this safe with was Victor, but this was different, this was her father.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

A/N For the whole DNA thing, Hank contributed DNA to the project he was working on before Charles and crew came along in Origins: First Class. That DNA was passed on to a 'super soldier' project and was used and manipulated to create the cubs. Technically if you look at their DNA they are not related paternally due to the extent of the manipulation. Rini, Tymi and Kara are the only ones that are genetically close enough to have some of Hank's characteristics, but because of the manipulation they cannot be considered related in that way. Hank technically is the father, and for Kara that is enough, but genetically the manipulation is so extreme Rini and Tymy ARE NOT RELATED.

That said...yes Hank is everyone's father :) and more of the genetic twists and turns will come out in this chapter.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

She sat on the exam table, swinging her legs. He seemed shocked, then happy, then suddenly concerned.

"Well, now to the bad news." Hank said softly. "You were out over night, and there were strange EEG readings all night, They slowed down when you woke up, but..." he glanced at a machine over her head. "they are still there."

"What does that mean?"

"I don't really know. There is another issue, even with my allergy, you shouldn't have been affected by the morphine like you were. Your healing factor should be off the chart, but somehow it is slowing down."

"What do you mean, slowing down?"

"I mean you are not healing as expeditiously as you should be." She groaned. She suddenly realized where Rini got the big word syndrome. It had to be genetic.

"Can we keep it in English, Hank, my head hurts." She whimpered.

He chuckled. "There is also a section of your DNA, one rarely active in either humans or mutants that we have found, it usually only shows up in certain animal species." She gave him a small smile for the effort.

"Okay, so I'm a freak, I already knew that."

"No, a highly evolved mutant, not a freak." Hank said gently. He stood and walked over to the exam table and sat on it next to her. "The section of your DNA that we were looking at is linked to the strange brainwave activity as well as the deterioration of your healing factor."

"So, what am I preprogrammed to self destruct or something?"

"Not exactly. The section of the DNA we are talking about relates to mating instincts and the need to find and bond with a mate. It is most active in swans and grey wolves, and certain breeds of tigers that mate only with one mate through their lifetimes."

"Oh?" Kara was going to kill him. Not only was he fucking her sister, now he was fucking up her healing factor too?

"Yes. There is a part of that gene that is slowly deteriorating your healing factor, as well as your other mutations. The only one that is not affected is the animal empathy."

"Great." He looked at her, his face scrunched in a puzzled look. She couldn't help but chuckle.

"The genes should only be active if you have formed a bond with a mate, and at your age I seriously doubt..."

"I knew who my mate was by the age of ten, Hank. I don't know if he knows or not, but last time I saw him he was being chased by one of my older sisters, and I'm not playing second fiddle to her." Kara said fiercely.

"Kara, I don't know if this gene will reduce you to being a normal human, or if it will go further. This has the potential of turning your own healing factor against you, killing you." He placed a blue hand on top of hers on the edge of the exam table. "The idea of a child of mine is strange, but now that I know, I don't want to watch you die."

"Will this affect him?" She asked, not pulling away. The thought of her own death didn't bother her in the least, but the thought that he might be suffering as well, that twisted her gut inside out.

"It will depend. Is he one of your siblings?"

"No. He's a lot older than all of us."

"Was he a part of the experiment that created you?" The telepath must have done a lot of digging in her mind either that or Victor sent the information to him?

"How did you know about any experiment?"

"A package arrived at my office in the White House, from an agency called SHIELD..."

"Oh...Nick." She said with a sour taste in her mouth. Somehow she knew Nick was watching her and that set off more danger bells than anything else so far.

"You know Director Fury?"

"Rather well, our Guardian works for him." She said.

"Guardian, there was no mention of a guardian."

"I figure there wasn't. Nick doesn't like people to know that he works for SHIELD."

"Who?"

"Victor Creed."

Hank's face went gray again, as the blood drained in shock.

"You were raised by Sabretooth?"

"Sabrewhat?" She could see Hank didn't believe the act so she just nodded.

"Kara, he's dangerous..."

"No shit. He's always been like a big plaything for us. Kayla raised us, he hired her, but he was like Christmas whenever he came, with presents and pets to play with." Hank looked at her like she was crazy. "He's never hurt any of us." She couldn't forget the slashes across Maggie's face, but decided not to mention it. "He's always been there, and all of us love him."

"All of you...or just you?" Hank asked.

"Is this affecting him or not?" She countered.

"Honestly, I hope so. If it creates a vulnerability, some way to capture him, even kill him..." Hank started.

"I don't want to hurt him. If I die, if it is effecting him, will it stop?"

"Kara..."

"Will it stop?"

"If he is reacting to it the way you are, no it will not stop. In swans and other species that mate for life, one mate doesn't long outlive the other."

"Then we have to find a way to stop it."

"Kara..."

"He may be a jerk, he may be fucking my sister, but I don't want him to die." She shouted.

"Kara..."

"You're the Secretary for Mutant Affairs, you're one of the top biogeneticists in the world, fix it."

"Kara, I can't. Your genetics have been so manipulated that changing one thing could kill you, and without him to get a sample from to see if it is effecting him, we run the risk of killing you both, not that I'd mind on his part..."

"Hank, please don't."

Hank just nodded.

"So, realistically, how long do I have?"

"I don't know, it could be years, it could be months, it will depend on how quickly you degenerate. Right now it is very slow, if it doesn't speed up, ten years or more at least before you are at regular human level."

"So I'll be grown before I lose my healing factor completely." She said.

"Probably, I'm going to monitor you closely, and track any changes so we can get a better idea." He squeezed her hand, then suddenly put his arm around her shoulder. She let her fear, anger, and shock roll out of her eyes in the form of tears, and just cried on his shoulder. She suddenly realized she was crying on her father's shoulder, and cried harder.

The one thing the others talked about was trying to find the donor that helped create them, and hold him accountable. Here he was, and Kara collapsed and let herself trust the one person in the world that would never hurt her. She cried until she fell asleep, and just as darkness claimed her she heard him whispering.

"Sleep, little Kara. You're safe for a while. No one will hurt you here."

She saw a brief flash before her eyes, a bright sun glowing down on a large building as someone or something looked down, watching a man walking below. She felt the wind as she pounced and the blood from his severed neck spray on her face. A smile crossed her lips and she let herself dream of the one man in the world she could never touch again.


	8. Chapter 8

He growled as he walked in the door. Several of the cubs' cubs were playing in the entryway, and scattered quickly. He'd stopped and grabbed the mail on his way up the drive. It was clenched in one hand, his bag in the other

The last four years had been hell. First having to rescue the tramp, Maggie from Hydra, then the whole Cure mess. Magneto didn't let him take out his frustrations in that mess, and now not only Mystique was out of the picture, but Mags as well. He hated being in the rear, but at least he knew Kara wasn't fighting with the Geeks. It was some consolation, even if he was still pissed off at her. He dropped the mail on the dining room table and climbed the back stairs. He stopped at her door and glanced in, but it was just as empty as the last few times he'd been to the ranch. Even her scent had faded.

He opened his door and dropped his bag. He stretched his back and popped his neck. He heard a noise behind him and turned slowly.

"I thought you might want this." Kayla said. She was holding a large white envelope with a silver seal holding it closed. He took it from her and glanced at the front.

"What the hell?" He opened it. After all this time with no contact, she sent him a fucking graduation announcement?

He yanked the card out of the envelope and another piece of paper fluttered to the floor. He picked it up.

_"Dear Victor,_

_I don't even know why I keep writing, you have never responded, but I am trying to hold out hope._

_I'm doing as well as can be expected, Hank's initial diagnosis was off by a little bit, but I've managed to finish my Veterinary degree, and should have a few more years of usefulness._

_I understand why you haven't written, or checked on me. Jimmy explained it. Something Jean did before he killed her helped with his little memory problem and he's remembering more all the time. He told me about your mother leaving you with your father, about how he left you, twice. I know you think I left you, but I didn't. I left them, and I hoped the letters would have let you know I still wanted you in my life._

_I was a child, Victor, and didn't understand then that you would take it so personally._

_I would like to come home, and spend whatever time I have left taking care of the cats. I promise I won't be in the way, and will stay out of sight if you are home._

_I can't ask for forgiveness, I don't regret leaving, I only regret that it hurt you. I'm proud of what I've accomplished and wouldn't give any of it back. I only wish that somehow you will allow me to come home._

_Kara"  
><em>  
>What the hell was she going on about, what letters?<p>

"Kayla!" He roared.

"I'm right here, what did she have to say?"

"Have there been other letters?"

"I've put all correspondence on your desk in the study. You have had some letters without a return address." He pushed her out of the way and took the stairs three at a time. He hadn't been in his office in years, just stopping in once in a while to check on things and then take off again the next morning.

He sorted quickly, grabbing anything that looked like it might have her handwriting on it.

_"Dear Victor,_

_Things are going fairly well, Professor Xavier helped me graduate early so I can start college this fall. It'll be strange, being sixteen and already in college, but I need to keep my mind busy._

_Hank and I are getting closer, he's working so hard to find a way to stop the deterioration of my mutation, he's hoping it will stop when I'm close to human healing rates...but that is years from now he says. It's weird having a father, especially after living around you, but he's cool._

_I wish you'd write back. I miss you,_

_Kara"  
><em>  
>He ripped open another one.<p>

_"Victor,_

_I hope these letters are reaching you, I really need to talk to you, there's something wrong, my healing isn't working right and I'm scared. Hank says it has something to do with my mutation and having a mating gene or something._

_I know Maggie is older, but Victor, I think you are my mate. Please, respond to this, I need to know for sure. Hank says this could kill me, in ten years or so. I know you're mad at me for running away, but I need you._

_Kara"  
><em>

The next one was written in a bold angry handwriting, he could almost smell the anger in it before he ever read a word.

_"Victor,_

_Why the hell haven't you written back. I hope Maggie's worth it you jerk. She's not your mate, I am, and you're dicking around with her. Forget it I'd rather die than have you for a mate._

_I'm mailing this before I change my mind."_

There was one, dated the same day right behind it.__

_"Victor,_

_Just tear up that last letter, I shouldn't have written it, I'm just scared and feel so alone. Right now I'd be happy being invisible, last choice, Rag-Bag girl, anything to be home. Come and get me, please._

_Kara"  
><em>  
>He searched all around his desk and then sat down on the floor and tried to sort them by date. There were hundreds. She had written sometimes twice a day at first, the last one before the announcement was six weeks before. She never put a return address on them, and after traveling through the postal system, they didn't retain any of her scent, nothing to tell him they were from her.<p>

They told the story of her life at Xavier's, her friends, her accomplishments, her fear of dying, her hope that she was right, and that he would swoop in like a knight in armor and save her. He read them all over and over. He read the one with the announcement again, and wondered where the water spots came from. He looked at the date on the announcement.

He'd missed it. The ceremony was yesterday, and he'd missed it. He let out a frustrated growl, just as he heard a car pull up outside the house.

"Oh My God!" Rini said, and Victor picked up her scent. It was Kara, but she smelled different, weak, and the growl grew to one of anger. He heard her intake of breath, and tears.

"I'm home." She said, almost to low for him to hear.

"I see that, where the hell have you been?" He wanted to stop Rini before she drove Kara away again.

"I just want to lay down, its been a long day."

"Your room is in the same place." Rini started, then stopped. "TYMI! Kara! Shit, Help!"

Victor could move, suddenly, and raced to the front porch. Rini was half supporting Kara, while the cab driver unloaded the bags, then jumped back into the cab and drove off. He grabbed his mate from her sister and carried her unconscious body into the house and to his room.

He knew enough to be really worried when he saw her face. She was pale, no color to her lips or skin. She worried about him forgiving her, but it was the other way around, she would never forgive him for this.

He checked her pulse, and glared at the crowd at the door.

"Don't just stand there, DO Something!" He roared. She didn't even stir.

He pulled his phone out of his pocket. McCoy better have some answers.

"Hank McCoy speaking."

"Blue-butt, its Creed."

"Is Kara alright, I was worried about her traveling today."

"She collapsed."

"Damn. Victor, she is convinced that she is your mate."

"No shit, I've known that since she was five weeks old, what do I need to do?"

"I don't exactly know, if you both were here we'd try different exposures under controlled circumstances until we'd found the best way to expedite her recovery."

"Exposure?"

"My theory is that exposure to the mate's pheromones will expedite her recovery, but I am not sure at what level it would be most effective."

"Well then we'll just have ta try overdose." Victor growled. He hung up the phone and stormed down the stairs to the study. He carefully picked up each letter in order and carried the stack of paper up to his room.

Kayla and Rini were standing outside his door.

"Bring my meals up here, and keep everyone out." He growled.

"Victor, she..." His growl cut Rini off. Kayla had the good sense to just nod.

He closed the door and pulled a chair next to the bed. Her skin was warm, to warm, and her breathing shallow. He leaned back in his chair, his feet resting on the side of the bed as he flipped through the letters one at a time.

He saw two glaring themes in them, her striving to improve herself, to feel worthy of coming home, and anger at him for not answering her. He couldn't blame her for the anger, the other, her feeling like she had to become something else to be good enough to come home, bothered him.

Where did she get the idea she wasn't good enough? Was it good enough for him, or something else? Over and over in her letters she mentioned being mates, but she never acted on it, why?

All she needed to do was call him, and he'd have been right there. Somehow, her letters seemed to indicate that she didn't know he knew. Did she think he was that dense, that stupid that he didn't recognize his own mate? And what the hell was she referencing with Maggie, he threw that bitch out years ago?

He felt his anger rising again. She should have known better. He glanced at the girl laying on his bed, and stopped. Gone was the gangly teenager, and a young woman in her prime was in her place. High, firm breasts that moved with each breath, slim waist, hips curved and full, good to grip and hold her in place. She was wearing shorts and her legs were shaped and toned and he tried to imagine them wrapping around his waist, but couldn't. The only thing he could see at the moment, was her face.

The baby fat was gone, and curves turned to angles. Her high cheekbones, patrician nose, slender jaw, and slightly almond shaped eyes gave her a definite feline cast, and the pallor and sunken skin made him cringe in guilt, something he rarely felt. When she was on her feet, and healthy she would be absolutely beautiful, almost a work of art, and that made him think of all the things he'd been planning, once he subdued her and forced her to accept him.

He wanted to take her with him, to see the world, starting with all his properties and the art works hidden away from the world in them, then all the places of beauty, places he knew she deserved as a backdrop. He wanted her safe, but not more than an arms reach away. She was his mate, and he needed her, as much as he hated admitting it to himself.

He went back to the letters, reading each one carefully, looking for clues, for reasons she had stayed away so long. He heard a short gasp and looked up. His eyes met hers, and she trembled. He could see tears welling in her eyes and had to bite back a growl.

"Victor?"

"Yeah, kid." He said softly.

"I'll stay out of the way." She whispered, trying to move, to push herself up.

"No, you won't. You'll stay right here and rest." He did growl this time.

"Why am I in your room?" She'd managed to get herself up onto her elbows and was glancing around the room. He watched her eyes track, and stop at certain places in the room. His unpacked bag on the floor, his closet, the top of his dresser, covered with his leatherworking tools, the leg of his pants where he'd not bothered to repair a rip, the stack of papers in his hands, and finally his face. He felt the scowl she saw and growled at himself.

"I'm not asking you for anything other than a couple rooms in the bunkhouse, or I'd even take the trainer's apartment in the stable. I can live there. I'll take care of the cats and try to take in some outside work to buy my own equipment. I should make it until you can find another full time vet."

"Shut the fuck up woman." He growled. "You're not doing anything 'til you are on your feet. Now shut your eyes and sleep."

She trembled again, and obeyed. He watched two tears trace down her cheek and cringed at the salt in the air. She had lessons to learn, his mate. It was going to take time, and she would have to pay for leaving him, but in time she would learn, and even be happy. He picked up the letters and continued to read.


	9. Chapter 9

She closed her eyes. She could feel the tears roll from them, and smelled his growing anger. Her senses weren't as sharp as they should be, but all the training with Logan made up for some of the deterioration.

The only part of her not effected by the deterioration was her animal empathy, and what none of the others knew was that it worked on ferals too. She knew most of his anger was directed at himself, she could feel his guilt and self hatred for that as well. She also knew that he didn't know anything about the events of the past few weeks, or about the new grave at Xavier's.

She knew far more about his abilities, and how much he could, and more importantly, could not pick up from her scent. He would pick up her growing anger, but not that it wasn't directed at him. He would pick up her weakness and pain, but not if it was improving or not, at least she would know before he would.

What he didn't know, and she never wanted him to know, was that her kill switch, rather all of their kill switches would pass true to their offspring. This wasn't just something that was killing her, but could and would kill all of them, and all their descendants.

That was why she had to fight, had to keep him angry, drive him away. He'd been abandoned by those he loved, hurt by them, enough in his life. She didn't want him bonding with her, being tied to her side for the rest of their existence.

He was like the tiger, solitary, not wanting the constant pressures of a pride. Her siblings were pre-programmed to be pride animals, to mate and stay close to their mate, their very lived depended on it.

"You're not fooling me, Kara." He growled. "I said rest."

She ignored him. She could feel her strength returning, and needed to get away from him. He was too close, she could smell him, and feel the stirrings that only he could ignite. That was the other issue, and she now knew that her sister had never been any threat, mates would only respond to each other, at least those effected by the bond her mutation created. They were never supposed to bond outside the lab, never find natural ferals, but he was proof the bond worked on the naturals.

"I said rest, damn it." He growled again, his scent changing slightly, his arousal growing. She had to get out of here, had to put some distance between them, drive him from the ranch so she could tell the others, warn them that their children were going to have to find mates within the group or die.

"Damn it, woman..." This time it was an angry snarl. He was angry at himself for not being able to resist her scent, his body reacting against his formidable will to the desperate pheromones she was producing.

"You should go, don't stay on my account." She said softly. She heard the papers shuffle, and tried to use them against him. "I guess I know why you never responded, I'm surprised you didn't just rip them up, I suppose they must provide you with amusement, the poor little girl with a crush."

She let herself get angry at him now. That he'd read and kept her letters after she begged him to save her was enough to put her into a blind rage.

"Actually," she was surprised by his calm response, although his guilt and anger spiked even higher. "I just opened them today."

That confused her, and she bit back a sharp retort at his bark of laughter.

"I haven't been here except a night or two in the last four years, I just got my mail today."

Well, shit, there went a huge reason to stay angry with him, and if she couldn't stay angry, she didn't know if she had the power to resist him. She didn't want to die, but she knew it was inevitable. He would leave, go to do a job, be gone for a year or more and some home to find her dead.

The research she and Hank were able to complete with Maggie's help showed that the deterioration was much faster after the bond was complete.

She forgot how fresh that grief was, and felt tears welling in her eyes. She didn't dare show weakness now, or she was lost.

"Kara," she felt him move, and with a gentleness only one of his cubs, or maybe Jimmy when he was young, he lifted her off the bed, and then settled so that she was in his lap, her head resting on his shoulder. "What's wrong, and don't give me any bullshit, I've had enough of that in your letters."

She sobbed, unable to speak. This was what she couldn't resist, the side of him only they knew. His hand stroked circles on her back, as the other cradled her head against him, as if she were still a little girl with a skinned knee.

"Kara!"

"Maggie's dead." She whispered. "She found her mate after you rescued her from Hydra. Neither one of them had strong healing factors, but they were happy, until he was killed in a crash."

"What happened?"

"Her kill switch was activated after he'd been dead about a month. She came to Xavier's for help, but it was too late, she died three weeks ago, so did the baby she was carrying. The baby had the kill switch in its DNA too."

"What kill switch?"

"SHEILD sent Hank the stuff you gave Nick, as well as all other information they were able to find. We have a kill switch, to keep us from being captured or used by an enemy, or surviving our mate. They didn't want us to be able to produce any hybrids, just pure feline ferals."

"So, that's what's wrong with you?"

"Yes, the process actually takes longer if we're unmated or the bond is only half formed, to give us time to either find a mate, or finish the bond."

"So it's taking longer because..."

She wanted to smack him. He'd been reading her letters he knew why; she wasn't going to beg, not ever.

"I haven't completed a bond yet. It usually kicks in when we're much older."

"So, it's taking longer because..." He asked again, the rumble under her ear familiar and soothing, but she wasn't going to be soothed, even if he was purring. She could still feel the anger; smell it, as well as the guilt. He wasn't going to be soothing long, she knew that.

"I told you, I haven't completed a bond yet."

"Kitten, you are too damned stubborn for either of our good." He chuckled. She felt something brush the top of her head and hoped to hell it was his cheek. She felt his finger under her chin and fought him tilting her head up to look at him.

Finally her eyes met his and she blushed. She wasn't sure why, but something in the way he was looking at her made her stomach flip.

"It's taking longer, kitten, because you ran away, causing undue concern, anger, pain and heartache to your mate. If you had picked up a phone instead of using archaic and technologically challenged modes of communication, there wouldn't have been any need for said concern, anger, pain and heartache."

She shook her head; she thought she left Beastspeak at the school with Hank.

"Now, while it will take time, and much patience on the part of your mate, to ease said emotions, I am assuming the rectification of this little problem is simplistic?"

"I wouldn't say simplistic but..." His lips brushed against hers and she felt her heart stutter. The second time she whimpered, and the third he didn't brush, he commanded. He demanded she give in and in her weakened state she couldn't resist. She lost herself in the taste of him, the scent of their growing arousal intoxicating her; she should be resisting him, but couldn't think for the life of her why. His fangs scraped her lip as his hands tangled in her hair, not allowing her to pull back even if she wanted to, she felt him nip her lower lip when she didn't give him access to her mouth quickly enough for him, and her blood joined the heady mixture of taste and scent. She let out a deep growl, needing more than his mouth, her teeth nipping him, tasting his blood mingling with hers.

He moaned, and she felt his claws against her back lengthen, scraping her skin, pushing her tighter against his broad chest until her legs were straddling his hips, and his claws were tearing at the fabric of the waistband of her shorts. She vaguely heard the rip of fabric, but couldn't have told anyone where it came from. Suddenly there was nothing between their bodies, not even air; he had her pressed so tightly against him. She tilted her head back, exposing her throat to his fangs as they scraped the skin there. She trembled, her fingers, claws scraping his skin, clinging to his shoulders.

He moved so fast she couldn't remember when she went from straddling him to being on her back, his body covering hers completely as his fangs scraped her skin down her throat and across her chest. His claws gripped her hips, and she whimpered as they pierced the skin, holding her in place. She felt something pressing against her and her back arched, and she felt something hot and wonderful slipping inside her body. The pain as he slid completely inside her almost cleared her mind, but the feel of his fangs on her shoulder, his claws holding her in place, and his urgent movements deep inside her made her cry out as she thought her body would explode.

His encouraging growl was all it took and she just allowed herself to follow the tide of pleasure until she heard a deep grunt and felt him stiffen and then relax against her.

He rolled off and she just followed, unable to stop touching his skin even for the brief seconds they were separated. He eased her onto his chest, her legs draped on either side of his hips, his head firmly on top of hers as he tucked her under his chin. His claws, just the tips scraped gently over her back in circular patterns until she let out a deep sigh.

"And?" he asked, and she could smell is surge of self satisfaction. He thought he'd won.

"Damn you." She said, her hand, resting on his chest, suddenly slapping him. "You've ruined everything." She slapped him again, this time tears coming to her eyes. He had, ruined everything. She wouldn't be able to have a quiet death, slow and relatively painless. Her death would be like Maggie's violent, and in excruciating pain, no concern if she carried a new life, just following its pre-programmed fate, ending her life when her mate wasn't nearby for more than six to eight weeks.

"I'm confused. You want to live?"

"That doesn't matter. Don't you understand…you just made everything worse."

"Kara, I swear, I'm going to turn you over my fucking knee and spank you until you make sense." He was actually chuckling.

"Victor, you don't get it. This bond, it won't work for us. You just can't be with me all the time."

"What?"

"You can't leave me, not even for a few weeks without me starting to get sick. Maggie was pregnant and it didn't even give her the time to save the baby, it just shut her down. Our children will carry this, they will have to have mates, live in a pride with their mates close at all times or they will die too."

"Kara…I want you close. Hell, after the last four years I don't want you out of my sight for a century or two."

"The first time you get bored, the first time you have a job that keeps you away for a couple of months, and I'll be dead, Victor. It's all in the notes, how it works, what is required to keep us alive. Luckily, all but Maggie and I found mates within our group, and we can watch their children, let them be aware of the dangers at least."

"And you can do that better than anyone, so why do you think I'd leave you?"

"Victor, I know you. This is never going to work." His hands pinned hers to the red skin from her slaps, her eyes flowed, fear rolling off of her.

"Kara. You are my mate. I didn't know about the kill switch, but it doesn't change my plans much. You are mine, it's one thing to be a cub, something you can pass on to someone else to raise until your mate is grown, but my MATE better damned well be ready to be chained to me every day the rest of her life." She groaned, his hands clenching her hips and pulling her against his growing arousal. "For one thing, I've been a fucking monk for almost twenty years; I'm not planning on getting out of this bed for the first few years."

He rolled them over, and thrust deep into her. She whimpered, but her body responded and she was soon rolling in the waves of pleasure again. She was between crests when he stiffened and grunted again.

"Once I'm sated…" He whispered. "then we'll deal with things like your running away. Lesson one, little mate; when I wanna fuck, I wanna fuck."


	10. Chapter 10

A/N I know it might look like it, but this is far from the end...just a respite until I can catch up on a few other things.

He held her across his chest. The feel of her heart beating in time with his, her deep even breathing started to soothe him to sleep. Dawn was creeping in the windows and sleep sounded like a good plan. He stroked her back in broad circles, her body completely relaxed.

The cub had potential, she certainly managed to meet his demands without batting an eye, after her initial resistance. He wasn't sure what she meant about a kill switch, but if it meant she had to be chained to him at the hip, he had no objections to that, he hadn't been this sated in nearly twenty years. His eyes started to drift closed when he felt her tense.

"GOD damn you to hell, Victor Creed. You've gone and ruined every thing." She sat up, sitting astride his torso, her face and chest a bright red. He watched the flush as it reached her breasts and had to bite back a chuckle as her nipples hardened with her rage. She got hot when she got mad. He filed that thought away for future reference.

"I don't know what the hell you think you're grinning at." Her right hook caught his jaw at just the right angle to snap his head a quarter turn. He grabbed her fist and put pressure on it. She didn't even wince.

"Not a wise move, Kitten." He growled, increasing the pressure.

"You've ruined everything." She said it again, and he watched as her eyes turned solid black, something he'd only ever seen in a reflective surface. She was going into a killing rage. "You selfish, self centered bastard."

Her claws were out on the other hand raking across his chest, and he felt his rage boiling. She didn't want to do this, not while her mutation was suppressed, and then it hit him. She was trying to push him over the edge, trying to make him mad enough to kill her.

He bucked under her, pushing her off balance and rolled, trapping her against his still bleeding chest. That stopped them both. She screamed as her hands tried to stop the blood. He just growled, and looked down between them as blood dripped onto her body from his.

"It does effect you." She whispered. "This wasn't supposed to happen. Your mutation is natural, not created in a lab. This was never supposed to happen. I've got to stop it, where are my bags, where..."

He was feeling light headed, and rolled back to his back. She'd cut deep across his chest, he could see bone in some of the cuts. She was screaming, and he heard the door open. Kayla stood there, a first aid kit in her hands, but Kara was screaming it wasn't enough. He heard fabric tearing, but all he could do was stare at the cuts across his chest ooze blood. Never in his life had his mutation failed him. Never in his life had he felt this frail, this weak, and he could feel himself weakening further.

She'd been trying to push him to kill her, and now she was working feverishly too save his life. She had Kayla pressing a large piece of white cloth over three of the slashes while she stitched up the forth. His eyes watched her hands, skilled and sure as she worked to repair the damage she'd done. Then it hit him. He was going to have the scars on his body the rest of his life. He'd never had a scar before, had sneered at those who bore them, and now, thanks to whatever had happened with their mutations, he was going to be scarred. He let out a low growl

The look she gave him sent a chill down his spine. Cold, a burning blue flame of ice in the black depths of her eyes as she worked. She was still angry, and growing angrier, and he had no idea why.

XXXXXXXXXX

Damn him. Why had he done it, now everything was fucked. If he hadn't completed the bond, if he hadn't forced it, he would have lived. Now he was trapped in her own hell, now his mutation was as screwed up as hers, now she was going to have to save HIS life, instead of letting him take hers...and now, unless she could get angry enough at him to want him to die too, he couldn't kill her anymore.

Right now she was that angry, not at him, but at herself. She could have fought harder, could have waited to use her claws until his rage was at the breaking point. She just hadn't expected him to have the same reactions as the others.

Maggie had come to Xaviers, seven months pregnant and already half dead. Kara and Hank worked tirelessly to try to save her, and the baby, but it was far too late. There was no way to reverse the mate bond once it was formed, no way to reverse the kill switch.

She looked at Victor's face. He was getting paler by the second. He was actually going to need a unit of blood if she didn't work faster. She didn't even know his type, and doubted he did either. She tried to avoid his eyes, the pain, the accusation there. He hated her even more now.

The letters, she didn't know why he had them, she glanced at one of them on the floor, just to have something else to look at instead of his eyes. "..._around with her. Forget it I'd rather die than have you for a mate."_ She remembered the day she'd written that, crying in her room, alone while everyone else celebrated Professor Xavier's return from the dead. She'd run to the mail box, the mail man had been emptying it and she'd handed him the letter. She'd walked back into the school, so alone, so scared. It had been the first time she'd really been hurt, physically, and she'd blamed Victor for it.

She'd spent hours with the Professor that afternoon, and sent of a second letter apologizing, but now she knew it was too late.

She turned back to the task at hand. Only one long furrow in his skin to go, and it wasn't as deep as the others. His eyes were closed and she hoped he'd passed out. The cut only required a few shallow stitches to keep it closed so it would heal. She cut the thread on the last one, and put the needle and thread back into the hot water she'd been using to sterilize it. Kayla wordlessly cleared the bloody pieces of sheet and shirts she'd been using for bandages, and left the room. Kara used large gauze pads to cover the wounds, taped down for now. That would hurt like hell coming off, but he was alive, and wasn't going to die from blood loss now. She shifted to get off the bed, she had to get out of this room, had to find someplace away from everyone so she could just let the tears fall.

All of this was her fault, all of it. There was no hope left, he hated her, even after finishing the bond that would kill them both, he still hated her. She only hoped that he'd make her death quick. She didn't want him to feel what his claws felt like when they tore into her. The others had no idea, or if they did, they'd never mentioned that part of the bond, the ability to feel what the other felt.

Maggie knew it, she'd felt everything her husband felt as he died, she'd told Kara about it before she died, tears flowing down her face. She'd felt every shard of glass, every piece of twisted metal piercing his body, the steering wheel crush his chest, the slam as the air-bag deployed late, breaking his neck. Maggie cried as she described it, and begged to die, to be with him. She'd said the only reason she came for help was the baby. Kara hadn't had the heart to tell her the baby was already dead. Maggie died two days later.

As she stood his hand shot out and grabbed her arm.

"Where the hell are you going?" He growled.

"To clean up." she looked down at her blood covered body.

"What did you do to me?"

"I told you not to complete it, I asked you to just let me die." She said softly.

"You knew this would happen?"

"No. I prayed it wouldn't." His hand tightened on her arm. She wasn't going to let him see her pain, she could feel every bit of his. She hoped his would hide any he might get from her.

"Why am I feeling what you are?" He asked.

"It's part of the bond." She wasn't going to lie to him. He'd given her too much over the years, she loved him too much to lie to him.

"Then you felt this?" He asked. She just nodded.

"I guess that's punishment enough then." He growled and yanked on her arm, pulling her down on top of him. They both winced as she jarred his chest. He forced her against his side, one arm trapping her there, claws almost piercing the skin. If she moved, they'd rip into her hip, and she didn't want to give him any more pain.

"Kara, we're both a couple of stubborn assholes." He started, resting his head on top of hers. "You're my mate, you're just going to have to get used to the fucking idea."

"You should have let me die. This never would have happened..." She started.

"Fuck that...I've waited almost twenty years for this, you think I'm gonna let you get away now."

Suddenly what he said hit her.

"Twenty years?"

"I knew you were mine the first time you were put in my hands." He whispered against her hair. "Maggie gave you to me on the plane here from LA. I tucked you under my shirt to keep you warm. You're mine Kara, you have been since that moment."

She felt something inside her uncoil, something she'd kept hidden even from herself, a fear that he'd only want her because of the bond, a fear that he would resent it, resent what it would do to him. He'd known all this time.

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why didn't you ever tell me." She whispered, and the tears she'd been fighting flowed from her eyes.

"I wanted you to grow up, I wanted you to feel free to make your own choices, I'm so damned proud of what you've done. You've completed a doctorate level of education in only three and a half years. I wish you'd been here so I could watch, so I could show you how damned proud of you I am, but you weren't, and, yes, that's an anger I'm going to have for a while. You're my mate damn it, and just when I was getting ready to let you know, letting you get to know me in a way no one else did, you ran from me." She could feel his anger, but it wasn't his normal rage, it was a deep wound she might never be able to help heal.

"I'm so sorry." She whispered.

"Don't be. I actually understand why you did, and even understand that it wasn't me. It's hard being the youngest, hard watching everyone you love pull away as they find that special partner that is only for them. To be the last for anything and everything. I only act like a dumb animal, kid." He said gruffly but with a chuckle.

"Can we fix this, can you really be tied to me like this. Maggie died so quickly...and felt everything her mate did when he died, I don't want you to have to..." His finger lifted her head.

"You're my mate. I'll do whatever I have to do to keep you alive, that's my job. I just hope to hell you can get used to a little bloodshed and parts of my life that, well, I've kept away from you cubs."

"I guess I'll learn." She whispered as he kissed her. She heard the rip of tape, and felt as it pulled hairs from his chest.

"Next time, no fucking tape it hurts worse than the cuts." He growled. She nodded, and looked down at the exposed skin. He'd healed, there were faint lines across his chest, but he'd healed.

"Be proud of them." He whispered. "The only mark I ever want on my body is yours."

He rolled onto her, and she felt him pressing against her.

"Can we do this in the shower." She whispered.

He grinned, and jumped from the bed and picked her up.

"Shower, bath, bed, hell anywhere you want, Darlin." He said as he carried her into the bathroom.


End file.
